Skyward
by Krystal Lily Potter
Summary: She wanted to break free from the soil that smothered her, but she never would have guessed that it only took one person to water the seed to make her grow free. Fluff. Sora/Kairi.
1. Planting

**Skyward**

_Chapter One – Planting_

The first time that Kairi met Sora was at the first university dorm party of the year. It was a huge event where the new freshmen were introduced to what others claimed would be the first of the best nights of their young lives.

Kairi was in an all-girls dorm, and she had never been a partier in high school. Most people had tended to think that she was a huge snob because she didn't talk to many people, but that was never the case. She had just been very shy and assumed that if people wanted her to talk to them, then they would ask. She wanted to open up a little more, so when she had gone to university, she did all of the embarrassing orientation week things with everyone else, she smiled and laughed and tried to talk to more people, and it had all gone very well for her. Her roommate, a nice girl named Xion Keys, was a little more outgoing and had gone out of her way to make friends with her new roommate. Xion had seen her and instantly called her out on being shy, but said not to worry because she would help her out. Kairi quickly became friends with her.

Kairi had agreed to go to the party, thinking that the stories she heard about university parties couldn't possibly be true. It was an excruciatingly hot night, but she had chosen to go to university on an island just to get away from her home, so she couldn't complain. It was so hot that most of the girls put on short skirts and small shirts that showed more than they covered. Kairi's parents had only ever given her skirts that went passed her knees, so Xion had lent her a black skirt with a pair of black shorts underneath, as well as one of her pink tank tops. That way she wouldn't be overly hot and she looked cute, but she wasn't exposing too much. She had stuck close to Xion as they walked across campus, and it was only when they were at the building where the party was that she got nervous. It was an all boys dorm, and it was said to be a big party place.

Already, there were people everywhere, and Kairi knew that the stories of university parties were pretty accurate actually. She had shied off to a corner after loosing sight of Xion, drinking her glass of punch that tasted surprisingly sweet and not at all like she imagined alcohol so she was sure that there was none in it. She was naïve and sheltered though, and it had never occurred to her that some alcohol tasted exactly like juice or was hard to taste when mixed with the right things. Her world was spinning in front of her several cups later, and she was vaguely aware of a young man standing entirely too close to her. He was trying to talk to her, but she barely paid attention to him. She remembered him holding out his hand in front of her and she remembered taking it, even though she wasn't sure why. She could barely remember following him through the halls of the dorm, but she did remember him pushing her through the door to his room, pushing her onto the bed and getting on top of her. She had known then that something was wrong with her then. She didn't kiss random guys, she didn't go into rooms with them on her own, and she certainly did not sleep with random guys. She could remember trying to get up but he wouldn't stop touching her and kissing her anywhere but the lips. She had tried to push him off but he didn't seem aware that she didn't want to sleep with him.

Luckily for her though, he had been stupid enough to leave the door open and someone had heard her telling him to get off of her. He had come in, pulled the drunken boy off of her and led her out of the room. She could barely tell what was going on anymore, but she was aware that now another guy was holding onto her, his arm around her waist, and he was leading her somewhere else. A moment later, they walked into another room, and even in her drunken haze, she noticed that, unlike the one before, this was a single room. Her mind registered that first years weren't allowed to have their own room, so he must have been older, and the only older students there were those in charge of orientation. According to the complaining from the girls' in charge of her house, they weren't allowed to drink that week. The thought that he was sober comforted her a bit.

Her constant thoughts suddenly lurched to a stop as she felt nausea pass through her small body. She tried to stop herself from throwing up in this boy's room, but she didn't think she could hold it in. She couldn't remember him making her sit on his bed, but she did remember him sitting beside her with a bucket and holding her hair back as she threw up in it. She couldn't remember anything after that.

She had woken up the next morning feeling sick to her stomach and not sure where she was. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was not in her room, let alone in her own dorm house. She slowly recognized it as a guy's room, and shot up in panic, but her stomach hadn't agreed with her and she almost threw up all over the blankets that were over her. Luckily for her, again, the young man was there to save her, or his blanket in this case. He gave her the bucket again (which turned out to be his garbage can) and sat beside her as she threw up in it. Once she was done, he set the bucket aside and rubbed her back as she let out small sobs. She was so embarrassed with herself. She probably looked horrible, she was in a guy's room that she didn't know, and she was throwing up everywhere. Well, perhaps not everywhere, but she was still throwing up in his room.

Much to her shock, she heard him chuckle before asking, "You don't drink much, do you?"

"No," she admitted quietly, "I've never gotten drunk before, and I don't think I'll do it again."

He laughed again, and she found that she liked his laugh. It wasn't mocking and cruel, it was honest. She glanced up at him shyly, and felt her mouth go dry. He had spiky caramel brown hair, cerulean blue eyes (that seemed a little familiar for some reason), tanned skin and a large smile. She couldn't help but find him handsome on sight, and the hormonal part of her almost wished that he had taken advantage of her the night before. She quickly shrugged that thought off, because she was a good girl and good girls didn't have sex with guys that they didn't know. No, they waited for marriage.

"Don't completely throw out going on the occasional pub crawl or something," he said to her happily, breaking her from her thoughts. "No one's going to make you drink more than your comfortable with. You can just go to hang out with people and have fun."

Kairi nodded her head, listening to his every word but barely hearing them. She loved his voice, but he was so attractive that she couldn't help but focus on that. That's when it occurred to her: he had been the one to take her out of that other guy's room last night. Her face flared with an embarrassed flush. He must have thought she was some kind of whore.

He tilted his head curiously as her sudden change in expression, and she was nearly positive that he had to be a mind reader when he asked, "Are you okay? Did that guy hurt you?"

She blushed a bit and said, "No, I guess I'm just—"

"Embarrassed?" he finished for her. "Don't be. We call that guy Corndog. Don't ask why, we don't know why he chose that name. Well, we do, but I'd rather not explain that. Anyway, he made it his goal to try and sleep with as many girls as possible this year. You're about the third one that he's tried it on this week, and the only one to walk away from him. You have nothing to be embarrassed of _because_ you walked away."

"Or was led away by you," she muttered. She couldn't help but smile when he laughed again.

"My name's Sora Keys," he said to her. "I'm going in my third year. I'm assuming you're a frosh, but what's your name?"

"My name's Kairi Hart," she answered shyly. Suddenly, his last name and his eye colour snapped together in her mind. She tilted her head curiously and asked, "Are you related to Xion Keys? She's my roommate."

"Small world," Sora said. "Xion's my baby sister. At least I know where I need to take you." He stood up and held out his hand to her. She flushed and took it, smiling shyly as he helped her up. He smiled a bit as she raked her hands through her hair self-consciously and he quickly snatched up one of his large hoodies with his name written on the sleeve and his house symbol on the back. Holding it out to her, he said, "It's a little cold out now cause it poured last night after you passed out. Put this on and I'll walk you back to your dorm. It's too early for anyone else to be up yet, especially after last night."

She reluctantly pulled his sweater on, pulling up the hood to hide her messy hair. He grabbed his keys to his room before grabbing her hand and leading her out of his dorm.

Kairi expected the walk back to her room to be quiet and awkward, but Sora refused to allow that to happen. He talked to her animatedly, as if speaking to a friend that he hadn't seen in a long time. He never once let go of her hand, and the blush never once left her face. She found out that he was 20 and would be turning 21 in January, and he hadn't left her alone until she told him that she was 18 and her birthday was in May. She found out that he was a native to Destiny Islands, and he found out that she was from Radiant Garden, but would rather not go back there.

Finally, they reached Kairi's dorm and she fished her keys out of the pocket of her skirt. She fumbled with the door and when she finally got it open, he put his hand on hers. She looked up at him, flushing brightly as he stared at her intently.

"So," Sora started, "I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for breakfast later?" It was the first day that they didn't have to be up early to go with their housemates to breakfast before rushing around to do different activities. Kairi blushed a bit at his request, so he continued talking, "I did save you last night, after all. You could just repay me the favour."

"Okay," she said shyly.

"Great," he replied happily, "oh, and you can bring Xion with you too. You seem like a shy girl, so I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and having a person in common in there should help. I'll stop by at about nine to get you, okay?"

She nodded before asking, "Sora? Why are you being so nice to me? I thought most people would be annoyed with a girl that they had to take care of."

"I dunno," he answered honestly, "I guess it's just because I find you interesting." With that he turned and walked back towards his dorm, a bit more of a spring to his steps than before.

Xion, as it turned out, was very encouraging of Kairi's friendship with her brother. She explained that Sora hadn't had a good time in high school, always known as a 'special kid' because he smiled so much and was always happy. He was a bit of a goof-ball, and while he enjoyed running and playing sports in his free time, he showed no interest in actually participating in any sort of teams. The one thing that he had always loved was the ocean, according to Xion. Kairi had pointed out that they were on a tropical island, liking the ocean was probably required. Xion had simply said that some people didn't like it. Besides, she reasoned, their family lived on a different island that wasn't quite as busy as the one they were on now, so the people who lived on this island didn't really know what it was like to see the real ocean.

Kairi and Xion met up with Sora for breakfast, and again for lunch and supper. Soon, Kairi found herself spending time with him without Xion there. She learned that he was working towards being a Marine Biologist. He was a bit embarrassed to admit that his father, who had quite a bit of money, was working on getting him into the Marine Wildlife Institute at home as an assistant or an intern, but he planned on proving that he wasn't just a rich-man's son. Though he introduced himself as going into his third year, he was actually farther ahead than that. He worked tirelessly towards his degree, taking spring and summer courses on top of the normal ones. Kairi was fascinated by his knowledge and his love for the creatures that lived below the water's surface. She was fascinated by him. She admitted that she'd love to be a teacher, specifically for elementary school students. She blushingly admitted that she loved children.

She found that she was becoming happier the more time she spent with Xion and Sora, specifically Sora. Xion didn't find it weird at all that her older brother was becoming so close to her friend. Actually, unless Kairi was mistaken, the raven-haired girl had made several attempts to push them together. It was only during one night when Xion was a little tipsy that Kairi managed to get her to admit that she thought Kairi would be good for her brother. The last time he had an actual girlfriend was when he was eighteen and he was pretty torn apart when she cheated on him. He didn't trust many people after that, and he threw himself into his work. She also admitted that she thinks Sora would be good for Kairi because she smiles a lot around him, and that's important.

So when Sora casually asked her to go to the movies, just the two of them, she accepted. It was nothing special, and he didn't call it a date, but she spent hours choosing her clothes, fixing her makeup and making sure that her hair was perfect. She went to grab her sweater, but her other new friend, Ariel, took it back, saying that if it got a little colder it would give her an excuse to cuddle up to him. She was nervous, that much was for sure, but she was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She had gone on a few dates in high school, but always with people of her parents choosing. Now, when her parents called, she made it seem as if she had come to a nunnery when it was almost the exact opposite. So as far as they knew, there wasn't a boy in her life in any way, shape or form.

She had no clue that Sora had a car before then. They had always walked to do everything, but in all fairness, they usually stayed on campus or stuck close to it. He had been so polite, opening the car door for her, gently putting his hand on her back to lead her around the unfamiliar theater and so on. He paid for her ticket, and insisted that she definitely needed some snacks when she protested, because she didn't need to watch her figure. He let her choose the movie, and she could tell that he was pleasantly surprised when she chose to watch the newest action movie out, admitting that she didn't like chick flicks all that much. She loved thrillers, but there were no good ones out.

It was comfortable, sitting with him in the theater. Sure, he was two years older than her, but she really didn't care. Her mother would have scolded her for it, but than again, her mother was almost ten years younger than her father, so what right did she have?

Somewhere along the line, even though it wasn't a romantic comedy, a tearjerker, or even a horror flick, Sora ended up sliding his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. There was an armrest between the two, but it had Kairi's drink in it so he didn't yank it up. Besides, it acted as a barrier from making her too uncomfortable.

After the movie they had just gone for a drive, going nowhere in particular. Kairi was very nervous, because even though she had gone on a few dates in the past, none of them had ever gone this smoothly. She never had a first real kiss, even though some of the guys her parents chose for her had forced their lips on to hers, but she had backed off quickly enough. Sure, she had been kissed, but never once had she kissed someone back. She also knew that somewhere out there was the unwritten rule (actually, it probably was written down now thanks to the internet) of never kissing on a first date. Still, she found herself drawn towards Sora in a way that had never happened before with anyone else. She felt her heart fluttering when she was around him, and she constantly felt like blushing. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, but she was sure that it was the reason she let him kiss her on the first date. She was also sure that it was the reason she had said yes when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

Xion seemed very happy for both her brother and her friend. She cooed that the two of them were made for each other. He was slowly bringing her out of her protective shell, and she was slowly mending his heart that had been broken so long ago.

They had their fights, goodness knows that they did, but it wasn't until Sora mentioned maybe meeting her family sometime that they had a huge row with each other in his little dorm room. He accused her of being embarrassed of him and she accused him of not understanding before she stormed out. They never broke up, but they refused to talk to each other for almost a week until Xion poked her nose into business that wasn't hers again (although she claimed it was, because both her brother and roommate were miserable). She found out exactly what happened and made it her goal to fix the misunderstanding. In Xion-terms, this meant that she tricked Sora into coming to her dorm to help her get something out of one of the closets that she couldn't carry on her own, and then shoved both of them in there. She had sat in front of the door, telling them to talk and then she would let them out and warding off any curious onlookers.

Kairi felt like Sora's cerulean blue eyes were staring straight into her soul as she stood with her back as close to the wall as she could get it. It didn't help that the closet was so damn small that even though she was trying to push herself against the wall, she still brushed up against him at the smallest movement. Seriously, this type of thing didn't really happen in real life unless you were friends with Xion Keys.

"Why don't you want me to meet your parents?" Sora asked her softly. It was after Christmas now, and while she had given Sora her cellphone number to text her, she never answered his calls when she was in the presence of her family, and she never gave him her home number as well. He admitted that it felt like he was just a university-fling for her, something that's never mentioned at home.

Tears welded up in her eyes and she shook her head while saying, "It's not that at all. I'm, definitely not embarrassed for my parents to meet you. Not at all. I just—I—"

"Yeah?" he pushed on, placing his hands on her thin waist.

"I'm embarrassed for you to meet them!" she blurted out, blushing deeply.

Sora seemed stunned at this revelation and he couldn't help but ask why.

Kairi had to take several deep breaths as she explained, "My mother comes from a family with money. She thinks that we're all better than anyone else, so she only thinks that rich, pompous asses are the ones worthy of dating her only daughter. All through high school she chose who I could date, what I could wear, and how I could act. Most people saw me as the snob that she wanted me to be. My dad, well, he's rarely ever around and is a pompous jerk. Above all that is my grandmother. She's the worst one of them all. If you're not up to her standards she automatically gets rid of you. My brother, Lea for instance. He was a bit of a pyro, so she had him committed to an insane asylum claiming that he tried to set her house on fire! It wasn't even true! My cousin, Naminé is like the only other normal one, and she got disowned because she decided that she wanted to be an artist and not go into business! I don't want you to ever have to meet these insane people."

Tears were now streaking down Kairi's face and he held her close to him, gently trying to calm her down by running his hand through her long hair. He kissed her on the forehead and said, "They can't be that bad baby. I mean, you aren't that bad."

"Neither was Lea or Naminé," she replied. "Reno was the smart one. He and Lea were twins. He took off the second he turned eighteen and we never saw him again. Lea stuck around for a bit and ended up in a nut house."

"So that's what you're trying to do? Just vanish from their lives?" Sora wondered. At her nod, he pulled her closer to him and said, "I'll find a way to get you away from them, if that's what you really want. It may take some time though."

All was forgiven, although Sora did show some dislike towards Kairi's family on the sheer basis that they made her feel so uncomfortable from then on.

Kairi was almost heart broken to be away from him over the summer, but Sora devised a plan. He would have Xion call her, and then switch the phone over to him. They kept up with each other through emails, texting and phone calls, but it wasn't the same. Kairi longed to be beside him, to be able to cuddle up next to him and share sweet kisses. She knew that, even though he had a summer job with the local aquarium thanks to his father while he took a few more classes, he would easily skip town and come to visit if it wasn't for her family. It was during this separation that it hit her, that everything every thing clicked into place. For a girl who thought that she would be trapped in the world her parents wanted her to be in, everything had changed so fast in ways she had never expected. She realized that she was in love with him, and as soon as she realized it, she called him (even though it was six in the morning where she was and four in the morning where he was) and told him that she loved him.

It was at six in the morning her time and four in the morning his time that he asked her to move in with him. He was getting an apartment this year and wanted her to be with him at all times. She admitted that she would have loved to, but her parents would never approve and they would find out. This was where Xion came in again. Xion was actually going to move in with her boyfriend, Riku (they had been dating on and off since high school), so for the first week or so Xion could pretend to be her roommate and Sora would hang at Riku's apartment. The two boys were friends, Kairi knew this already, and while Sora was protective of his little sister he was still best friends with Riku and gave him the benefit of the doubt regarding Xion.

Surprisingly enough, her parents thought it was an excellent idea. She later found out that they just didn't think she should be mingling with all of the 'drunk whores' that apparently lived in the university's dorms. The plan went off without a hitch.

When her parents met Xion, Kairi had to force herself not to laugh. The girl was dressed up in a dress suit, looking a lot like a lawyer, and had been exceedingly polite. Her parents highly approved of this fake Xion. They left quicker than Kairi expected, and Xion was back in her jeans and her hoodies quick enough. They didn't have to wait a week to switch apartments, so Sora and Xion switched that night.

Kairi was ecstatic to be in Sora's arms again. She never wanted to let him go again. It was different telling him that she loved him face to face as opposed to over the phone, and it was different hearing him say it back while seeing the sincerity and love in his eyes. He took her out to dinner that night at a fancy restaurant where she dressed up in a beautiful dress and he wore a tie, even if he hated them. That was the night, nearly a year after they started dating, that they were intimate together. Sure, they had gotten close to the act several times before, but never once had they done the did itself. In retrospect, she was a little surprised that Sora hadn't pushed for real sex earlier, he was only a young man after all, but she was glad that he didn't until she was a hundred percent sure that she was ready. She didn't care about waiting for marriage, all she cared about was him.

They did have fights, usually on the nights one of them had to stay at work longer or about money, but now they had a new way of making up. Whenever she felt his bare skin brush against her own, his lips trail from her neck downwards, or the pure pleasure that passed through her when they made love, she often wondered why people found the act disgusting or wrong. She supposed that it was different, because she was in love with Sora, and it wasn't just a random one-night stand.

She couldn't help but notice that when she went to the store and bought condoms once, and later on birth control pills, that she got disgusted looks from some of the older women and odd ones from the younger girls. She had wondered why for the longest time, because she was an adult and they had no right to judge her.

Sora pointed out that she looked a little younger than she really was, having the air of an innocent teenager about her. Kairi didn't really like this revelation and decided to change it. She didn't want to be slutty, but she didn't want to look like a girl who would cringe if someone swore around her. Her shirts became a little bit lower cut (they were much less constraining around her neck, she quickly realized), her skirts and shorts a little shorter (Sora always did say that she had nice legs), her clothes in general became a little more form fitting and classier, and she started wearing a little more make up, but not enough to make her look trashy. The biggest change was when she cut her hair, which had been nearly to her waist all her life, off to her shoulders and got it styled differently. It made her look a little older and more mature.

She had gotten her makeover done on a weekend that she had off but Sora had to work. She had pulled on a short pink dress with zippers on the front and a while camisole just before he came home. She only emerged from their room when she heard him in the kitchen.

Sora had nearly spit his drink out of his nose when she came out of her room with her makeover, looking happier with herself than she ever had. Sora assured her that he loved her no matter what she looked like, and she assured him that she couldn't blame him if he liked her new look more, because she did too. She pointed out that now he didn't have to have sex with a girl who looked like she was going to cry if someone said the word 'penis' around her.

When she made love to him that night, it felt different for some reason. It could have been because her long hair normally stuck to her body uncomfortably with her sweat, or because Sora certainly seemed much more into it than normal (she knew that she was right about him holding back because she looked so young and innocent), but she had a feeling that it had to do with the fact that she was so much more comfortable with herself. She was turning into the person she wanted to be, not who her parents wanted her to be. In the end, though some of her friends has accused Sora of changing her, she realized that she had changed mostly for herself.

When a long weekend came up for Destiny Islands, Sora asked her to come home with him and meet his family. She was nervous, but she went with him, Xion and Riku anyway.

She quite liked Riku when she met him the year before. He was Sora's best friend since they were just little kids, and a year older than the brunet, but that didn't stop him from dating Xion. Sometimes he could be very serious, other times he loved to joke, but all in all he became a big brother to her. Sora often said that he could trust Riku with his girlfriend any day, and it was true. Riku would joke about stealing Kairi, or he would whistle at her and call her a hottie (especially after she gave herself a make over), or sometimes he would even give her a quick whack on the butt or something similar, but it was all in good fun. He had no interest in perusing Sora's girlfriend in anyway, shape, or form. Both she and Sora knew that, and it was the only reason he got away with what he did.

Kairi was nervous about meeting Sora's family, and he seemed nervous about her meeting them as well. All three of them warned her that Sora's family was borderline insane. His father was eccentric, and he wasn't a businessman like Kairi was expecting when she had heard that Sora's family had money. No, he was actually the inventor of the holo-vision and the holo-theatre. She got to see the early prototypes of the holo-computer as well. In a way, he reminded her of a mad scientist, but it might have been because he purposely acted like one from time to time. He was rather random, kind of like Xion, but aside from his inventions, he was rather cheap. He had grown up in a lower-income home, and had made his way up to the top on his own, encouraging his children to do the same even though they had the advantage of more money. Kairi could now see why Sora and Xion never seemed to flaunt any money and had jobs, because if they tried to run to daddy for anything he would just snort, laugh, and pretend that they were part of his next experiment.

Sora's mother, Ayame Keys, was definitely a more serious woman in comparison, but in all fairness, when Kairi first arrived she was on the phone arguing with a print shop about her latest design. She was being sharp and strict in her directions, since she didn't want the entire marketing campaign that she was in charge of to mess up because of a printing error. Kairi had heard her yelling something about a four-fold brochure with a die-cut, double sided, on glossy 40-ounce paper and CMYK while the book that was being printed needed to be printed with spot colour. All this went right over Kairi's head and Sora had to explain that she was a designer for a marketing firm. When she was off the phone though, she was a sweet woman. Kairi also had to smile at the fact that the woman collected Disney memorabilia, including all of the movies to date.

His grandmother, Saika Keys, had more energy than anyone Kairi had ever met. The old woman was a widow, but she didn't let that bring her down. She was very opinionated, and despite the fact that she was already eighty, they all joked that she was going to live forever. She was Raiden's mother, and lived with them because she was deemed too old to live on her own but she refused to go into a retirement home. Many times Kairi had to laugh at how she acted as if Raiden was simply 'wooing' Sora's mother and constantly gave him advice on how to treat a lady. He always joked that he was going to put her in a home. She always joked that he was getting cut out of her will.

Kairi got to meet Sora's older brother Zack and his wife Aerith. Zack was a soldier, but he was like his brother and sister with his smile and his good humor. Aerith ran a flower shop and was a very kind woman.

Then there was Sora's oldest cousin, Cloud, and his girlfriend Tifa. Tifa was an amazing fighter, and she tried her hardest to bring out the best in Cloud. They had adopted a boy named Denzel, and often watched over a girl named Marlene who was a friend's daughter. Cloud was a very serious man who was also s soldier, and it was a huge joke amongst his younger brothers and their cousins that whenever Cloud smiled, god killed a kitten. What could they say? They were twisted.

Cloud's brothers were a year older than she was, and were identical twins. Their names were Ventus and Roxas Blade. Kairi had been confused at first, because Cloud's last name was Strife, but Sora explained that Cloud had a different father. They all got their looks from their mother, Raiden's sister, though. Ventus was much more easy-going than his twin was. He made friends easily and reminded Kairi a lot of Sora personality-wise. Roxas was easily the more serious of the twins, but not to the extent that Cloud was. Kairi was a bit surprised that Sora and Roxas seemed closer than he was with Ven, but she never said anything about it.

The twins seemed to enjoy teasing her and Sora enough, but their mother, Rika, was always ready to give them a swift hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper. Kairi wasn't even sure why she always had a newspaper with her, but she did.

His entire family instantly made her feel welcome, but she had to blush when his grandmother gushed about how pretty she was. The old woman then admitted that they were skeptical about Sora moving in with his girlfriend, but now she saw it as a good thing. She had never seen Sora so happy. The old woman then said that she hoped they were using protection. Kairi had flushed and stuttered at that, but the old woman just laughed and said that her grandson was a handsome young man and she was a beautiful young woman, so if they weren't all over each other she would have to assume that they were just pretending to be together while secretly both being homosexual. Kairi had answered that they do use protection. His grandmother said that that was good, but, as much as she loved Denzel, she'd like to see some biological great-grandchildren soon and Zack and Cloud were getting nowhere with that. Sora was the oldest after them, so it was natural that he'd be the next she could rely on.

Kairi didn't want to insult Sora's family, but she was only young. She was nineteen, turning twenty in May, and here was an old lady asking her to give her grandchildren! While Kairi's heart was sure that Sora was the one she wanted to be with, the thought of actually having children frightened her at the time.

Kairi's year had ups and downs to it school-wise. She had been forced to take business courses by her parents, even though she had no interest in that. She wanted to be a teacher, not a secretary. She had to admit, seeing Sora's parents with their unique jobs inspired her to think about switching degrees without her parents knowing. Sora encouraged her to do what she felt was right, and she ended up transferring to the education degree instead.

As the year reached its end, Sora and Kairi both became extremely busy and had little time for each other. Kairi had known that Sora was ahead in his degree, but it wasn't until recently that she discovered just how far ahead he actually was. Sora had managed to complete his ungraduate degree and was already working on his Masters. On Destiny Islands, it took two years to get a Masters in Marine Biology, so he would be finishing that before she was even finished her ungraduate degree.

She realized that it meant that she was only going to be completing her third year of schooling while he would most likely move back to his home island where there was a possibly internship or assistant's job waiting for him. She would only be able to see him on the holidays because he would be so busy.

"That's not exactly accurate," Sora replied sheepishly when she confronted him about it. They were in a rather comfortable position with Kairi sitting on Sora's lap facing him, and to be honest, he hadn't thought that this conversation was coming this quickly.

"What? How isn't it accurate?" she demanded to know.

"Well, I know it's going to be a lot of work on my part, and that almost isn't fair to you. I'll always be busy, but I'm going to find a way to make sure we keep working. I was thinking that after I get my Masters that I could go on and get my PhD in Marine Biology."

Kairi's mouth had fallen open at this and she said, "You're PhD? That'll make you a doctor! Sora! If you want to, it's a great idea! You're like, crazy smart when it comes to science, not so much in every day life though." He ruffled her hair at this, causing her to whine and push his arm away. "How long will it take you?"

"Well, in some places it can take anywhere from four to six years, but that comes with a lot of extra stuff that's deemed useless here. So it takes three years, but already my councilor was saying that I could probably do it in two."

It was true, Sora was extraordinarily bright when it came to science, particularly biology, environment and zoology. Kairi found it more than amusing that he was so smart, but at the same time, he was so dense. Still, he was goofy and charming and she loved him to death. It would be a lot of work, sure knew that, but she would support him every step of the way.

"You are okay with it though, right?" Sora asked her suddenly. "Because it's going to be a lot of work and, Kairi, if I had to choose between you and this, I'd choose you any day. There's nothing you can say to change my mind about it." She opened her mouth to protest, but he placed a finger on her lips and asked, "Do you remember when I left you with Nannie for a while when we were home?" She nodded, vividly remembering that conversation. "Well, mom wanted to talk to me. She said that she was so proud that I was doing more than focusing on studying. She said that she was always worried about me, and how much I studied after…well, after high school. She was the one who pushed me to join my house orientation committee in my third year. It's the best thing she's ever done in my opinion. She said that she was always so worried about me because I never showed interest in dating anyone, and I quote 'not even other guys'. She told me that if I was as smart as I seemed to be, I would put as much effort behind keeping you as I would behind my career. And you know what? She's right. I don't want to let you go, ever."

The tears in Kairi's eyes spilled down her cheeks as she kissed him deeply. She had never known anyone who would push everything that they had worked for to the side for her. She decided then and there that she was going to do the same thing for him.

She called her parents the next day, still exhausted and lying in bed with Sora sleeping at her side, his naked body pressed against her own. She reached her mother and told her that she wanted to study more over the summer and to use the library and archives there so that she could get the most out of her education and stay at the top of the class. The entire thing was a lie, because she was not in the business program, she would not be studying but working in the small cafe down the road as a waitress, and she honestly didn't care.

Her mother, oddly enough, had asked her if she met anyone there, a boy, and Kairi had answered no. For a moment, Kairi hoped that her mother was going to be more open to her own decisions, but then she mentioned that Kairi should come home because there was a lovely young man named Ienzo that she'd like her to date. Kairi felt disgust run through her as she realized that her mother didn't say 'to meet' but 'to date'. Who did the woman think she was? Kairi refused, saying that she'd like to focus on her studies, and her mother warned her about becoming an old, barren maid with no children.

Kairi was about to point out that she was older when she had Lea and Reno, let alone her, but they were taboo to talk about. She didn't get the chance to anyway, because Sora was awake and could hear her mother growling at her. She wasn't quite sure what he was thinking when he started kissing his way from her throat, down her bare skin to her lower body, all she could concentrate on was trying not to breathe too heavily or worse, moan with her mother on the phone.

Kairi managed to rush the conversation with her mother and hang up before she did anything embarrassing like start screaming. Sora often joked with her that she was proof that the quiet ones were the screamers, and she would just say that he wasn't getting laid for the rest of the month for that. It never lasted though.

Afterwards, she demanded to know why he did that while she was on the phone with the mother that didn't know that she was in a relationship, let alone living and having sex with her boyfriend. He had just grinned and said that he thought the irony that her mother was growling about her being an old maid while he was going down on her was just too funny. He was right, she decided later on; the irony of it was funny.

In the back of her mind, Kairi was kind of expecting something bad to happen in their relationship because it had been going almost too well. She was right. It came in a package of brown hair that flipped at the end, bright green eyes, very short yellow skirts, and it was named Selphie Tilmitt.

The girl was loud and obnoxious at the best of times, and worked with Kairi at the quaint little cafe as a waitress. Sora had come to visit her one day, and Selphie decided then and there that she had to have him. Kairi tried to tell her that he was her boyfriend, but the young woman (who was a year younger than she was) just started flirting with him, ignoring her. Sora ignored the girl and kissed Kairi right in front of her. From then on, Selphie was her self-proclaimed rival, determined to have him for herself.

Sora told Kairi one night that he thought 'the Selphie girl' was too young, and he didn't really like her personality. She was good looking, he admitted after Kairi prodded him about it, but she reminded him a lot of the girlfriend from high school that cheated on him. Plus, he had perfection anyway, so why would he want her?

Kairi was very comfortable in her relationship with Sora. So when Riku threw a huge party at a random house (Riku stuck around because he was pursuing a Masters like Sora was, but he actually had gone through all fours years of university before doing that) during the first week of May, and she saw Selphie kissing Sora, she didn't do the immature, stereotypical high school girl thing and run away crying. She was not going to be one of those girls who were so dramatic that they wouldn't let anyone explain anything to them and just assumed that the boy was lying. No, instead of running away, she waited and watched as Sora pushed Selphie away before storming over and ripping into the girl. Really, if that was all it took to tear apart someone who claimed to be in love with someone else, than it wasn't love.

She was a quiet girl naturally, but she tore right into Selphie. Selphie was shocked that Kairi didn't automatically dump Sora, but Kairi was quick to tell her off.

"This is real life bitch, not some sort of stereotypical high school drama. In real life people are rational, and they think, and life isn't just problems all over the place," Kairi snarled at her. Selphie had said something back that she couldn't remember, but it had been bad enough to make her so angry that she punched her in the face. She didn't slap her, but punched her. The only girl Kairi really hung out with anymore was Xion, and the rest were boys (like Sora, Riku, and a few of their friends like Tidus and Wakka), and Xion had grown up with only boys, being the only female cousin, so both of them learned how to deal with certain things in more stereotypical 'masculine' ways. Besides, if Kairi was going to fight a little girlier, she was going to use her nails that she spent so much time on and not the palm of her hand. Those would definitely leave a mark on Selphie tanned skin.

Sora had thrown her over his shoulder and took her away from Selphie. He didn't try to scold her for fighting or anything, instead choosing to thank her for not overreacting. He also assured her that she was a much better kisser, and that Selphie reminded him of the time he was playing with the vacuum cleaner as a child and got his mouth stuck in it. Kairi had laughed and said she was going to ask his mother about it.

The year before, Kairi had gone home in mid-April, so she never got to celebrate her birthday with him, yet they had celebrated two of his birthdays together, so he wanted to give her the best twentieth birthday ever. When she tried to weasel what they were going to do out of him, he had just sighed and dramatically said that they were going to stay in bed and have birthday sex all day long. Kairi had pouted and replied that while there had better damn well be good birthday sex later that night, but she wanted to do something else. It was an important birthday, because the word 'teen' was no longer on her name anymore. At the same time though, she had requested no party that night. They could have a get-together with their friends some other time, but she just wanted to celebrate it with him.

When Kairi woke up in the morning, she had been alarmed to smell food cooking. Sora tended to burn things more than anything when he was on his own, but if she was with him to constantly supervise the food he was cooking (nay, torturing), it turned out decently, even though she as no gourmet chef herself. She shot out of the bed that they shared and ended up tripping over the blanket and crashing into the wall opposite of the door. Sora appeared a second later, looking very confused before laughter escaped his lips and he helped her up.

"You were supposed to stay in bed," he said with a pout. "That way I could bring you breakfast in bed."

Kairi sighed and said, "That's sweet Sora, but I'm willing to bet that even the yoghurt would be crispy."

"You don't cook yoghurt though," Sora replied with confusion. "Come to think of it, we don't even have any."

"And it would still be crispy," she repeated. He shot her a mock angry glare before dramatically storming off saying that she didn't appreciate anything. They ended up making breakfast together, but Sora forced Kairi to sit down while he served her first. Really, it was the thought that counted, and she really did appreciate it.

She chose to have a bubble bath that day, deciding that she should be allowed to spoil herself on her own birthday. After the water became cold, she got out instead of refilling it and chose to wander around the house with only her fluffy robe on instead of actually getting dressed right away. Given how short the robe was, Sora definitely approved. He admitted that he didn't really have anything planned until later that night, but there was a market going on down by the waterfront if she wanted to go.

The jewelry and other things that were being sold at the market had fascinated Kairi. Everything was homemade, from the food, to the clothes, to the weapons, to the jewelry, and all of the small trinkets. Kairi stated that she wanted to try to make her own seashell jewelry, and Sora laughed saying that she was becoming a true island girl. Her first piece of shell art ended up being a five-pointed star made from shells that had a Sora-like face drawn onto it. She gave it to him and made him promise that he'd never lose it, and if something happened and they were separated, he would have to find his way back to her in order to give it back, bringing him to her in general. She called it their oathkeeper.

At the market, they bought some homemade orange, pineapple and strawberry jams as well as some freshly baked cookies and bread. Sora offered to get her anything else she wanted, but she said that it was alright, unless he didn't already have a present for her. Luckily he did.

When they returned home there was something new sitting on the counter that wasn't there when they had left. Sora admitted that he had given his key to Xion so that she could put that there after Sora took her out. There were several boxes, all wrapped up the same. Before Kairi could go and open them though, Sora pulled a strawberry cheesecake out of the fridge and she wasn't quite sure whether to eat the cheesecake then and there or pull Sora to their room and reward him for getting her strawberry cheesecake. She positively adored it, but because they were on an island good strawberries weren't around at all times of year so they stocked up on things like jam when they were around. The fact that he got her strawberry cheesecake (because she loved cheesecake) just made her entire day. Kairi was happily distracted by the dessert and wished that she could savor it forever, but there were still things to do. So after a large slice of the cake and assurance that Sora would not get up that night and eat the rest, she went to her presents.

The first one was from his parents and turned out to be a beautiful, midnight blue dress that that shimmered in the light. It was strapless and went down to just above her knees, the top tight and the skirt flowing. The other presents were from Riku and Xion. From Xion, she received the makeup that she had been eying, and from Riku it was a pair of strappy heels to match her dress. The sad part about Riku's present was that she was sure he had picked them out himself. He was one hundred percent straight, but he had amazing taste in clothes and had a good eye for what looked good on people and what didn't. There was also one labeled from Roxas and Ven, so Sora was skeptical of that one. He knew what everyone else got her, but not them. Needless to say, the fact that they got her handcuffs and various other toys and creams with a note that said 'have too much fun' definitely embarrassed him. Kairi took it in strides though, having grown used to his cousins now, especially when they visited for the spring break that had passed. She pointed out that at least they got her a gift. She also assured Sora that they could (nay, would) severely embarrass the two of them on their birthday as well.

Sora told her that, aside from that, it had all been planned. They were going to go to Tiana's Place, which was a large chain of expensive restaurants that originated somewhere in a place called New Orleans. It was not only very difficult to get in to, but it was very expensive and one of the hottest tickets in town. Kairi thought he was joking, but he assured her that they had reservations there for 6:30.

Her present from Sora had been stunning, needless to say. He said that it was to make up for missing her birthday last year. It was a white gold necklace that had the tiny chain links shaped a small hearts, and a pendant on the end with the outline of a heart that curled in on the top and a small crown. There were diamonds lining it, and he had got her earrings to match. It was a rather simply looking necklace, but it left her speechless. She swore that she would never take it off.

Kairi was positive that she was the luckiest girl in the entire world. The food had been amazing, and Sora had even got up to dance with her even though both of them had two left feet. They must have looked so awkward watching their feet while dancing, or stumbling with style as he liked to call it, but she didn't even care. He had even put on a tie for her. There was nothing that could go wrong, she was sure of it.

Before entering their apartment, Kairi kissed him deeply, and Sora was sure that she fully intended on starting the rest of their night right then and there in the hallway when she wrapped her legs around his waist and he had to hold under her thighs to keep her up. Of course, as everyone knows, what goes up must come down (aside from Sora's hair, Kairi noted as Issac Newton rolled in his grave). Of all the times her parents actually seemed to really give a damn about her and not just their public image, they had come to visit her on her birthday, only to see her making out with a young man they had never even heard of before, with a makeover that was completely different from before.

Needless to say, they had freaked. That was when every little lie that Kairi had told them came tumbling out. She wasn't taking business, she was pursuing education; Xion wasn't her roommate, Sora was; she got her makeover because she was sick of the looking like a completely innocent little teenager and she wanted to look like a young woman who could go out looking nice, or in sweats, or could pull off being sexy when she wanted to. Most importantly, she was dating Sora because she loved him but she was embarrassed for him to meet them.

Her mother said that she looked like a hussy, and her father said that she was coming home with them and going to the University of Radiant Garden. Kairi refused, pointing out that she was twenty now and could do what she wanted. Her father grabbed her arm to try and yank her out the door by force, but that was a mistake. Sora pried the man's grip off of her and held her close, telling them that they could go to hell.

Her mother said that he was just going to use her for sex and once he got her into bed he was going to leave her. Kairi was angry enough by that point to say that it wasn't true at all because she was already sleeping with him on a regular basis. Her parents were yelling, and Kairi was yelling back. She made it quite clear that she was not leaving Sora, she was not going with them, and that she would do what she wanted. They made it quite clear that if she stayed with such a 'bad influence', she would not be getting a penny from them for school. Kairi chose and decided she'd rather pay off student loans for years than go back with them. Her mother slapped her and Sora nearly exploded with rage. He forced them to get out and warned them to never come back again. Kairi was sobbing and seething at the same time, saying that they ruined everything. Sora tried to sooth her and suggested getting some rest early, but she refused. She wanted to take out her anger on something, so she said that she was going to have her amazing birthday sex even if she had to use the handcuffs Roxas and Ven gave her to hold him down.

When she checked her bank account, she found that her parents had indeed closed the one that they had set up for her, but she had her own account that she was putting her pay cheques in, just in case.

Her life had changed so much from what it used to be in high school. She was confident in herself, she was in a relationship that others were jealous of, and she was on her own. It was a little frightening in a way, but at the same time it was what she had wanted all along.

Was Kairi a believer in destiny? She was starting to think that she was after everything that happened. After all, what we're the odds that the person who stopped her from being raped during her first university party would turn out to not only be her roommate's brother, but also the person she was positive that she wanted to spend her life with? Yes, Kairi decided, she did believe in destiny, and while she was sure that things were going to get difficult, she was sure that she could survive through everything with Sora at her side.

**Author's Note**

I decided to write this because, like when I was writing Shadows of Beginnings, there' not much fluff in that and it drives me nuts, so I wrote a short, fluffy thing.

This has two more chapters with it. Only two more.

Yes, my Sora in this is very smart. At the same time though, he's still loveable and very dense. He says the right things to Kairi, but he fails mostly with other people. So he just chooses to smile a lot cause he's happy.

And yes, it IS possible to get an undergrad degree, a Masters and a PhD at a very young age. It takes an insane amount of work, and is most of the time associate with being a genius in some respect (Bones, anyone?), but it's possible. I researched it, specifically for Marine Biology.

Hell, my great uncle graduated from university when he was 18. Yeah, wrap your mind around that. Crazy guy can read, speak and write 20 or more languages. I really wish I had his brain at times. I'm smarter than average (not bragging, IQ tells me so! Ok bragging a little), but I am seriously blonde at times. Kinda based Sora off of me.

Oh, and his mother's spiel about design is totally accurate. I have a diploma in design, trust me on that. USE RGB AND 72 DPI FOR INTERNET IMAGES PEOPLE!

Actually, looking back over the entire thing, there are pieces of me and all of the people I know worked into all of the characters. Though none of the events actually happened to anyone I know, some things are loosely based on things that I've seen, heard and lived through. Example: The guys in our 'brother' house at my uni do indeed have competitions to see how many new girls from my house that they can sleep with. I had to take more than a few drunk girls away from there in Orientation Week.

Anyway, long author's note aside, I'll probably update this pretty fast.

Also, sorry for skipping tenses so many times. I tried to fix it but then I got bored and I was like 'no'. True story.

_**Krystal Lily Potter**_


	2. Sprouting

**Skyward**

_Chapter Two – Sprouting_

Three years, over a dozen exams, and many teardrops later, Kairi was finally going to be graduating with her Bachelor's Degree in Education. She had stayed for the appropriate fifth year to be able to teach, and Sora had proved that he could work diligently even with her 'distracting him' and was able to get his PhD exactly like the councilor said he would be able too.

Kairi was infinitely proud of Sora. She had never known anyone to get an undergraduate degree, a Masters, and a PhD by the time he was 25, and here her long-term boyfriend did.

She had specialized in English with a bit of history on the side, and she had already done her intern time at a local high school where many of the teenage boys had made inappropriate comments about her because of her looks. They said some rather unpleasant things about her, but she struggled through it. It didn't matter anyway, because she wasn't planning on going back to that school ever again.

She had to admit, even though it was only a small apartment and nothing special, she was a little teary eyed to see the boxes slowly get packed up and shipped away. She had so many good memories in this small apartment. Admittedly, there were many bad memories as well, but she didn't want to think about the time she had a huge fight with Sora, which ended quickly after she threw a glass ornament in his direction, not expecting it to shatter on his face. She had felt so guilty for that for such a long time, and considered herself lucky that Sora even forgave her. Even now though, when she traced the scar on his face, she felt bad about it. There, of course, was also the time when her parents practically disowned her because she refused to go home with them. There was the time that she had a miscarriage at the same time that Sora had almost died.

Kairi sighed as she looked in the mirror. That had been a year ago, and she hadn't even known she was pregnant at the time, just attributing her sickness and dizziness to the stress of her final projects and exams. On top of that, she had ended up being laid-off from her job at the cafe down the street (business had been bad ever since an employee, who definitely wasn't named Selphie (Kairi loved sarcasm), had got caught having sex on the kitchen counter and not cleaning it), and her mother had got a hold of her to see if she had dumped Sora yet.

The worst of it came when she was watching Sora approach their house from the window, eager for him to climb the stairs and get in their apartment to tell him what a horrible day she had been having. He always knew how to make her laugh even on the worst days, even though he always ended up saying the wrong things around other people and tended to make situations awkward.

He didn't make it there though. A drunk driver swerved and hit him.

Kairi barely remembered screaming and then running out of the apartment. She had fallen down several steps, and that was when her abdomen started to hurt, but she ignored it and kept going. One of the paramedics in the ambulance was the first to notice the blood on her legs, and was the one to catch her when she passed out.

It was a kind, elderly doctor who told her that Sora was going to be okay. It was the same kind, elderly doctor who told her that she had a miscarriage.

She shook her head viciously, trying not to think of the bad times there. There were also the good times too, and while none of them were huge, monumental occasions, the fact that her general day-to-day life was filled with so much happiness made her smile.

Still, the thought of almost losing Sora, and losing their baby, seemed to echo within the apartment. She had never told Sora about her miscarriage, and sometimes she felt like the walls were closing in on her secret. Maybe it was a good thing that they were getting away from the small place they had called home for so long to start over.

Suddenly, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist, causing her to jump and giggle. She felt Sora lean his chin on her shoulder and kiss her neck. Kairi let out a small moan as his kisses became more passionate and his hands started to wander.

"Sora," she said with a giggle but she didn't try to stop his advances, "we're leaving today. Your parents will be here soon."

"All the more reason to give the place one last go, don't ya think?" he asked with a teasing voice.

"You'd think you'd be a bit tired of always having sex," she said distractedly. "You are twenty-five, after all, Mr. Genius."

He hummed a bit and said, "Are you calling me old, Miss Kairi?"

"No," she said as she turned around and pulled his shirt off of him. "I'm just saying that you should be bored of it by now."

He kissed her on the lips as he hiked up her jean skirt and pulled away only slightly before saying, "With you? Never. I mean, I'd probably never find another girl who'd be willing to at least try everything in the karma sutra book at least once." He shot her a teasing wink, showing that he was joking.

She giggled as she tugged at his belt and joked, "Well, it's already packed."

"That's okay," he said with deep breath as he grabbed her by the thighs and lifted her up so that her legs were around him. "I planned on pinning you against the wall anyways."

Kairi giggled hysterically and let him do exactly what he said he would.

When Sora's parents appeared an hour later to take half of their remaining items in their car, both of them looked at their son and his girlfriend with amused looks, because despite the fact that the two were experts in making themselves look presentable after fooling around, it was still obvious what they'd been doing moments before.

Kairi went with his mother to make sure that they had everything packed up while Sora put the last few boxes in the cars with his father.

The rather random man nudged Sora and winked at him before saying, "Giving the place one last go?" He ignored his son's blushing face and added, "You remind me a lot of your mother and myself."

Sora glanced over at his girlfriend who was giggling while talking to his mother and smiled at her. He glanced at his father and asked, "You and mom really like Kairi, don't you?"

"I don't think there's a girl in the world that could replace her," he replied honestly. "Do you?"

He shook his head and blushed a bit while admitting, "I've been thinking lately, and now that we're both done with school and all...I want to ask her to marry me. I've wanted to for a while, but I know how important it was for both of us to focus on what we wanted to do."

Raiden looked positively thrilled at the idea and asked, "Does your mother know?"

"No, only you," he said. A determined look passed over his face as he added, "I'm going to ask her soon."

On the drive towards the ferry that would take them over to the island where Sora had lived most of his life, and where his new apartment with Kairi awaited, Raiden told Ayame about Sora's plans to ask Kairi to marry him.

Ayame was very protective over her youngest son. Yes, he was the middle child, but he had always been a mama's boy, even as a baby (usually crying hysterically unless his mother was holding him). She had been ready to go rip the head off of the girl that had cheated on him, but he was the one to tell his mother that she wasn't worth it (he was positive that she would actually do it).

She had been wary when Sora first told her that he was bringing his girlfriend home with him, and had been pleasantly surprised with Kairi. The girl adored her son, and was a complete sweetheart. She didn't have the nicest family, but that was okay because she was quickly accepted into their family as much as Aerith and Tifa were.

Needless to say, his mother was ecstatic about the idea of Sora proposing to Kairi. She was also thankful that it was an hour drive from the university to the ferry, because it gave her time to cry about how her baby was all growing up, and it gave her time to fix her makeup.

Kairi noticed that Sora's parents were giving her odd looks after they got out of their cars on the ferry. It was an almost knowing and excited look. Sora didn't seem to notice it though, saying that she was imagining it as he hugged her close and looked out over the water. Kairi was sure that she wasn't.

They had started unpacking their belongings in the new apartment that they were renting. Unlike before, it was on the ground floor, and instead of being made for primarily university students, it was more of a family place. It was bigger, brighter, and the people were much more friendly. Across the hall from them lived an elderly couple that had decided that they couldn't take care of their own house, and since their children were all off in different places, they moved into the apartment. More than once, the kind old lady had offered to cook Sora and Kairi supper, and the old man gave Sora a lot of advice for keeping everything alive and fresh, even after years of marriage. If he could be honest, Sora hoped that he and Kairi would be like this couple some day.

Naturally, Sora made a big deal of 'breaking in' their new house, which Kairi promptly agreed to. What she wasn't expecting was that 'breaking it in' would go on for several days while neither of them were working. Really, she was starting to wonder if it was normal for a couple to sleep with each other as much as she and Sora did. Xion said it was while they talked over the phone one day, she and Riku were like that too, but Kairi was not to tell Sora that, because he would murder Riku. The fact that they were all adult aside, Xion was still Sora's baby sister in his mind, and though he knew she and Riku did things together, if he didn't hear about it, he could pretend it never happened. Xion asked Kairi to promptly give Sora a daughter so that he could go overprotective on her instead.

Sora's job started first, as he was starting out at the bottom of the totem pole there (he was only an assistant to the senior biologist at the institute), but that was the way he wanted it. He didn't want to buy his way up, but to work for it. As it was, many of the researchers were older there, so it was only natural that they would eventually start handing off more of the fieldwork to Sora. Later on, he would sometimes leave for days and weeks at a time on research trips, but she never minded, because he always made sure to call her every night.

Kairi started off as a substitute teacher for elementary school children, trying to work her way into the system. The children positively loved her, because she wasn't old and cranky like Ms. Maleficent. Funnily enough, the woman would end up having a mental breakdown and quitting, so Kairi was given her job as a long-term sub. This was good for her, because after so many hours of teaching, she was almost guaranteed a job.

Every other year, they had gone home to Sora's parents' house for Christmas, but this year they had bought their own tree. It was only a fake one (since they did live on a tropical island and ever-greens weren't exactly common), but that didn't matter to her because of how much fun she and Sora were having decorating.

He left to go into the kitchen for a moment before coming back and letting out a laugh. She was tangled in lights with tinsel hanging from her hair, and she knew that she looked like a disaster, but she didn't really care. She giggled at him and said, "Decorating the tree is overrated."

He laughed again and helped her get out of the lights before helping with the tree again. She was hanging up the decoration, and he was kneeling on the ground while picking the ornaments out of the boxes to hand up to her. It was a pretty simple, repetitive system, so as a different shape that was not a sphere entered her hand, she frowned with confusion and looked down. It was a small black box, and she had a feeling that she should know what it's for, but she was drawing a blank. It was only when she opened the small box and saw a shining white-gold ring with a heart-shaped diamond in the center and two smaller diamonds off to the sides of it, that it occurred to her what she was looking at.

Her eyes widened and snapped towards Sora, who had been kneeling down the entire time, and she said the only thing that could come to her mind at the time, "Oh my god."

"Kairi—"

"Oh my god," she repeated.

"—will you marry me?" he asked. It was a very simple proposal, but that was what she needed.

"Oh my god," she said for a third time, her eyes watering with happy tears. "I—I—yes? Yes. Yes!" She let out a laugh and threw herself into his arms, repeating the word 'yes' over and over again while laughing and crying at the same time.

Sora grinned broadly, and he felt like he wanted to cry. He had known that she would never had said 'no' to him, but he was worried that she would say that she wasn't ready yet. The fact that she said yes made him feel like he was the luckiest person in the world.

They woke up a few hours later to a knocking on the door. They were both on the floor in front of the half done Christmas tree, Sora bare as the day he was born and Kairi with only the necklace he had got her, as well as her new engagement ring. Kairi grabbed the blanket off of the couch and wrapped it around herself, going to peak through the door. She saw an impatient looking Xion there, and opened the door just a crack more.

"We're busy," Kairi said quickly, and Xion raised an eyebrow at her before a disgusted look appeared on her face.

"Really Kai?" she replied while shaking her head, "Well, mom's expecting you two to be at her house tonight for dinner. It's three now. Riku and I were passing by, and I knew Sora would forget." She had seen Kairi glancing around for a clock. "So you have two hours to get ready. Make sure Mr. I'm-a-doctor-but-not-a-real-doctor knows that too." With that she walked away, but Kairi saw her rolling her eyes.

She just barely closed the door before Sora was tugging away the blanket and groping at her.

"Didn't you get enough of that earlier?" she muttered breathlessly, not bothering to stop him.

"Maybe with my girlfriend, but not with my fiancée," he answered before picking her up bridal style and taking her back to their room.

Surprisingly enough, they hadn't been late, but that might have been because Sora insisted on sharing a shower instead of taking separate ones. No one could tell that they had spent a better part of the day romping around in their apartment.

Sora explained that it was his parents' anniversary, and instead of going out, they liked to have supper with their children, and now their children's partners as well.

Riku was already there with Xion, and gave Sora a slap on the back while saying, "So, I hear you and Kairi have been having fun all day."

Sora just laughed and winked at his best friend while saying, "What can I say? I can't keep her off of me. Besides, it's not like we're like this every single day. Most days we do actually just sleep in bed."

"I know the feeling," Riku replied.

Sora laughed for a moment before suddenly glaring at him and saying, "You are my friend, so I have decided to overlook anything you may be doing with my baby sister, but if you ever bring it up again, I will shove you into the shark tank at the aquarium."

Riku knew that Sora would never actually do that, but he wisely kept his mouth shut about Xion after that. She was 23 now (the same age as Kairi), but to Sora, she would always be his baby sister.

Sora's mother commented on how lovely Kairi looked with her spaghetti-strap summer dress that was dark pink at the top and faded into white at the bottom. Ayame also commented on how well her rather worn flip-flops matched, and Kairi had to laugh while explaining that she wasn't really interested in wearing high heels if she didn't have to. His mother completely understood. She had many, many pairs of worn out flip-flops and other sandals.

She was about to comment on something else when she went silent and her eyes went wide. She grabbed Kairi's hand and stared at the ring while gaping. Kairi wasn't sure if this was a good sign, or a bad one, until his mother said, "I knew he was going to propose, but goodness, I didn't know he had bought such a beautiful ring! We didn't give him any money for this, so he must have been saving up for months on his own."

Of course, there wasn't a Keys (biology, or by marriage) alive who was naturally quiet, so everyone else heard exactly what she said. Xion and Aerith both gushed over the sparkling ring while Riku, Zack and his father all congratulated Sora for getting such a good girl. Aerith joked about how Kairi's ring was much better than her own, and Xion told the story about how Riku wrapped a Fruit-Rollup around her finger when she was four and he was seven, saying that they were married.

Sora's grandmother had the best reaction by far. She had hugged both of them tightly and practically started planning the wedding right then and there.

Kairi was sure that this was going on her list of one of the best Christmas seasons she had ever experienced.

The wedding was planned for the summer, and though it would be very hot, they were going to have it on a beach. Spring would be cooler, but it would be too soon, Kairi reasoned, and autumn was the stormy season so it could rain at any given time. She was not waiting until next winter to marry Sora, so summer it was. Someone has suggested waiting until the next summer instead of the upcoming one, but she had scoffed. She was not going to wait that long.

After setting a date, which was the first thing that she did, Sora told Kairi that she should try to get in touch with her parents. She was scared, she admitted, but he was right beside her as she called them. Her father was the one who answered the phone, and when she said who she was, he automatically asked if she was apologizing and coming home. Then, before she could answer, her mother asked if she was pregnant with her fifth or so child, was dumped and needed help, because they weren't giving it. Kairi's eyes started to water at this, so Sora grabbed the phone from her, growling at her parents that they were getting married and she wanted them to at least know. Then he hung up.

Her mother's words echoed through her mind, and Kairi couldn't help but think about how they should have had a baby already, but she killed it. She finally broke down and told Sora about the entire thing and how it was her fault the baby died before it even had a chance at life.

Sora was shocked, and a bit annoyed that she had never told him, but he held her close to him and said that it wasn't her fault. He said that some things were just meant to happen, and maybe something out there knew that they weren't ready yet. He also reasoned that once they were married, they could have as many babies as Kairi wanted. She admitted that she always wanted a fairly big family, but she couldn't miss a lot of time for maternity leave, so it was impossible. That night, all she wanted him to do was hold her close while they fell asleep, and nothing more.

As Kairi and Sora started planning their wedding, he finally got to meet someone else from her family. Kairi had no clue how Naminé had found out where she lived, let alone her phone number, but her blonde cousin called, sounding rather distressed and wondering if she could come and visit. Sora was curious to meet someone from her family who wasn't a complete ass, so he had encouraged Kairi to say yes to let her come.

Naminé, in her choice field as an artist, didn't get paid all that much, so she had a side job as the manager of a clothing store, but she was looking for a new job somewhere else. She also came with a surprise: her young daughter that she named Saria. The young girl didn't look a thing like her mother, with her silver eyes and her pink hair, but neither Sora nor Kairi mentioned anything about it.

Sora quite liked Naminé. He had been a little wary at first, but he soon found that the woman was a lot like Kairi originally was: very shy and guarded. She came out of her shell after Kairi explained that she was getting married and would love for Naminé to be there. Xion was going to be the Maid of Honour, but Kairi said that having Naminé as a Bride's Maid would have been great. Sora had a feeling that there was an ulterior motive to her coming to visit though than just catching up with her cousin.

Naminé admitted that she was searching for a job and had gone back home. There, Kairi's parents were ranting about her so Naminé found out where to find her and packed up to leave again. She reluctantly asked them if it would be possible for them to watch Saria while she went on a job search on the islands. She wanted to be near at least one family member, preferably the one that wasn't insane.

They ended up playing babysitter to the five-year-old, and it was during this time that Sora came to the conclusion that he really wanted a baby of his own. He was twenty-six now, and he was about to get married, so it wasn't like it was a ridiculous idea. He mentioned it to Kairi, who smiled slightly and said that they'd see after the wedding. She would admit that watching Sora interact with little Saria made her heart melt. She was sure that he'd be a wonderful father. For her part, Saria became very attached to both Sora and Kairi, calling them 'Unca Sora' and 'Aunie Kairi'.

Naminé found a small apartment a few blocks away, and Sora was almost sad that Saria was leaving with her mother. The little girl would be acting as the Flower Girl for Kairi's wedding, and Naminé was definitely going to stay in touch.

Soon, Kairi was starting to feel the pre-wedding stress. They had already gone from place to place registering wedding gifts (which was a new concept to Sora, but he went with it), had chosen their cake, decorations, flowers, invitations, tuxes, dresses and a billion other things that Sora could barely keep track of. He had thought that once the tedious task of writing out all of the invitations and sending them off was done that everything would be in the clear, but he was definitely wrong. It was after that when the problems began to arise.

The first problem was that the fabric for the dresses Kairi wanted for her Bride's Maids ran out in the middle of making them and the shop couldn't find anymore anywhere. Kairi had raged at them but they started looking for a new but similar fabric to appease the bride before she turned into a true Bridezilla. It was when they royally messed up her own dress that she took her business elsewhere and had to start over. Sora wasn't sure how, but she had got a complete refund from the place, but he was sure that she had made the shop owner cry with her rage.

She didn't want just a simple, straight white dress that most people seemed to use those days, but rather a beautiful princess-like gown that wasn't too puffy or big. The end product had iridescent beads and tiny gemstones sewn into the top of the strapless dress with the occasional one woven into the skirt. She was very pleased with the second place she had gone to, even though she was pushing it time-wise. Then came the tuxes, which were all the same with black jackets and pants as well as white shirts for underneath. Riku (Sora's Best Man), Roxas and Ventus would be wearing deep purple ties with their suits, while Sora had to wear some sort of dark blue vest under his coat but over his shirt, and a brighter blue tie. Kairi had joked about getting him a bow tie, but then she said that she thought he'd look ridiculous in one.

As soon as the Bride's Maid dresses were done for Xion, Naminé and Olette (a woman who was a teacher's assistant in the school Kairi taught at whom she had become good friends with), Kairi was sure that they were out of the problem area. Between marking tests, creating fun but education assignments and lesson plans, as well as helping to plan the annual end of the year carnival and planning her own wedding, Kairi wasn't sure how much more stress she could take. She was just thankful that she wasn't in charge of the carnival completely and only had a minor role in helping.

The week before the wedding, the florist called and said that there was a problem with their order. Kairi had just stared at her at a moment before bursting into tears. Sora's grandmother was the one who came to the rescue. They hadn't gone to Aerith because she didn't live on the islands, but Sora's sister-in-law came a week ahead of her planned time and, somehow, she managed to get everything straightened out. The florist there would give what she had, and Aerith was contributing the rest for free. Kairi had cried while hugging her tightly.

Riku, as Sora's Best Man, had taken charge of planning the bachelor party. Sora had made it clear that there were no strippers invited, but he just frowned and said, "Fine, we won't have strippers. We'll have exotic dancers!" Sora had argued, but Riku eventually won the argument. To put Sora at ease (he and Kairi had been watching way too many chick flicks recently where the groom runs off with another girl just before the wedding, which was a bad idea in retrospect), they made sure that everyone knew that he was the groom. Needless to say, Riku, Ven, Roxas and everyone else invited had an awesome time, but they all had awful hangovers the next morning.

Kairi felt absolutely miserable after her bachelorette party though. She had gone bar hopping with Xion, Naminé, Olette, Aerith, Tifa, Ven's friend Aqua and a few others, and on top of having a hangover, she had a bruised hand with a cut in it. Some guy had come too close to her, saying he could help her really enjoy her last night of freedom, and she had punched him in the mouth.

She woke up early that morning and luckily managed to get over her hangover quickly enough. Soon she was whisked off to do her hair in an elaborate up-do of soft curls with small fake flowers and tasteful gemstones clipped in place. While the other girls were all together getting their hair done and getting dressed, Kairi had chosen to go on her own to surprise everyone, except for Sora's mother and grandmother. They were there to help Kairi calm her nerves since her own mother and grandmother weren't there. Kairi had paid for both of them to have pedicures and manicures with her that morning to show her thanks, and she was sure that the old woman had never been happier. At the same place, Kairi had her makeup done. She was a little worried about looking too trashy, but the end result was exactly what she wanted. The woman working on her makeup admitted that their boss made it very clear to never mess up on the makeup of a bride, something about her own wedding being horrible or something like that.

The other girls weren't back yet when Kairi returned to Mrs. Keys' house where the women were getting ready. Sora's mother helped her get into her dress, and as she stared at herself in the full-length mirror, she felt her eyes starting to tear up a bit. Sora's mother had blotted away her tears, saying that she didn't want to ruin her makeup already. When the other girls finally got back, they changed into their dresses before seeing Kairi, and were stunned at the sight of her.

Naminé told Kairi that she had a surprise for her cousin, and Kairi nearly had cried again when her older brothers walked in. She had no clue that Lea had been released from the institute that her grandmother had put him in, but she was glad to see both him and Reno.

Both of them easily joked about how the last time that they had seen Kairi, she was a shy little teenager who did everything their parents wanted, and now here she was, looking like a princess and about to get married to a person that her parents did not approve of. She was just glad that they could be there and promised to introduce them to Sora after the wedding.

There was a tent set up on the beach so that Kairi could stay in there and Sora couldn't see her until she walked down the isle. She peaked out though and saw him standing there, looking a little nervous, but he was still there. She had been slightly worried that he ended up meeting a stripper or something the night before and ran off with her, so seeing him there instantly relieved her. Adding onto the fact that it was her wedding day, her older brothers whom she hadn't seen in years were there, so she was sure it couldn't get any better.

Ventus and Roxas appeared to escort their aunt and grandmother down the isle, both playfully whistling at her and joking that if it didn't work out, she could go with one of them, or both, they wouldn't be picky. It wasn't lost on Kairi how Roxas seemed to have to pry his gaze away from Naminé once he saw her, and she had to giggle at him, causing him to flush with embarrassment.

Kairi was sure that she was having a panic attack when she heard the music start. She watched as Saria walked down the isle, throwing pale purple and blue lily petals haphazardly every which-way, and then watched as Olette, and then Naminé, and finally Xion walked down. She heard the music change and took a deep breath, holding her flowers close to her as she walked down the isle alone, her grip around them so strong that she was sure that they were going to break. She was nervous, because normally a father would walk his daughter down the isle, but her father didn't want anything to do with her. Those thoughts instantly left her when her eyes locked with Sora's and she smiled almost shyly, a blush appearing on her face. He had a rather stunned look on his face, his cheeks turning a pale pink. She saw Riku whisper something to him, and he just nodded.

When she reached the end of the carpet that had been thrown on the sand, and the makeshift alter that had been put on the beach, she let a deep breath out of her lips and smiled as Xion took her bouquet and she took Sora's hand. Her eyes looked into his as he studied her and whispered, "You're beautiful."

Like any bride, she had been having a few worries about the future and if she was doing the right thing, but hearing his voice speak so sincerely and lovingly, seeing the way he gazed at her, she knew that she was making the right choice. That was why, even though there were many tears of happiness, she only kept a smile on her face. Through the vows and the documents that needed to be signed by the bride, groom, best man and maid of honor, through the smile and the tears and placing the rings on each other's fingers, Kairi and Sora both just kept smiling. Kairi found herself actually growing impatient with the ceremony itself though. The I Dos came and Kairi found herself getting antsy until she heard the man say, "You may kiss the bride."

Kairi didn't give Sora the chance to move as she jumped on him and kissed him deeply, causing him to stumble back a few steps. Laughter exploded out of everyone present and Riku called out, "Come on guys, you have to save it for the honeymoon." Kairi giggled as she parted from Sora, grinned broadly as Xion passed her the bouquet and she looped her other arm through Sora's.

Everyone else in the wedding party walked down the isle first (led by Saria, who was thrilled to be leading), with Sora and Kairi trailing behind. When they reached the end, Kairi came to a sudden stop, her eyes widening with surprise. Sora followed her gaze and wasn't sure whether he should be angry or not to see Kairi's parents and her controlling grandmother standing at the back of the crowd. Sora had never seen her grandmother before, but he had heard stories from Kairi and Naminé about how the scowl was permanently on her face. Her parents surprised him a bit though, because her mother looked like she had been crying and her father, if he had to guess, looked like he was ashamed of himself.

They didn't make a move to come and speak to their daughter, so Sora slipped his arm out of hers, placing it on her waist and saying, "We should go. We've got pictures to take, remember?"

Kairi nodded her head and tore her eyes away from her parents to her husband, feeling a thrill pass through her at being able to call him her husband. She smiled brightly and allowed him to lead her towards the car that would take them to the place that Kairi had reserved for pictures.

Pictures were taking forever, Kairi decided, keeping a smile on her face and doing any pose that the photographer, Pence, asked her to. There were pictures with only the women, some with just the men, and every other combination in the book. Obviously most of the pictures were of her and Sora. Kairi had caught Pence snapping pictures of them when he had told them to take a few minutes to rest their feet, but in all fairness, she and Sora had been cuddling together despite the warm temperature and were kissing and laughing, just enjoying being together.

"Okay guys," Pence said. "I think we're done."

Sora let out a whoop and picked Kairi up, poofy (but not too poofy) dress and all, before spinning around and kissing her. Kairi was sure she saw another few flashes go off, but she really didn't care.

"Can we get something to eat?" she asked the others. "I know the reception is in a few hours, but I'm starving and a cheeseburger would be glorious."

"You want to go into a fast food restaurant on your wedding day?" Olette asked, sounding scandalized.

"Of course not," she replied evenly. "I want to go through the drive through of a fast food restaurant on my wedding day."

Naminé just rolled her eyes and Saria happily yelled out about chicken nuggets. Ven, Riku and Xion found this hilarious, Olette looked put-off, and Roxas was just staring at Naminé again.

On his way passed Roxas, Sora gave his cousin a swift kick in the leg and said, "She's single."

Kairi had to admit, having a free bar at the reception may not have been the best idea, but it was still hilarious. She and Sora both wanted to remain sober to remember everything from that day, but they did have a few drinks. A lot of the guests were very drunk though. Riku gave a rather embarrassing speech about how he knew Sora, and Xion bragged about how she got them together in Kairi's first year of university, which felt like it was so long ago.

The food was good and the people were happy and lively. So many people congratulated them and commented on how beautiful Kairi looked and how handsome Sora was.

Kairi was glad that she had Sora had taken those dancing lessons, because as they had their first dance together, neither of them tripped over the other. They weren't all that graceful, Kairi could admit that, but she didn't even care. She had fun dancing with her new husband and her friends. She didn't even care when things started to get rowdy as the children left and the adults continued to drink more. Kairi was forced to take off her heels and replace them with flip-flops, causing her to trip over her long dress constantly, but again, she didn't care (the top fit too snugly to her body for her to worry about tripping and yanking it down). She was sure that nothing could go wrong on that perfect day.

And for once, higher powers decided not to spite her thoughts.

Sora's parents had insisted on paying for the best hotel in the city, despite the fact that Sora and Kairi claimed that they could go home that night and then return to his parents' house for the gift opening. If Kairi wanted to be honest, she really did want to go to the hotel and was glad that Sora's mother put him in his place, simply saying that they were going, end of story.

She didn't know why she was so nervous that night as Sora picked her up and carried her over the threshold. It wasn't like this was the first time she would be sleeping with him. In fact, it was something that she enjoyed participating in quite frequently. Maybe it was just the fact that they were married now, and this would be their first night together as husband and wife.

She backed up and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a little messier, but it was still in the same curled style as earlier, and her makeup was only smudged the smallest bit. She glanced down at the bright red nightdress that she was wearing that was made of silk, lace and sheer fabric. It was one of the few things that she had gone on her own to buy, and she felt very bashful while putting it on. Normally they just went from whatever they were wearing to nothing, but this was her wedding night so it couldn't be like normal. It was very tight around her chest and cut fairly low, and the bottom of it came to just barely below her rear. She knew Sora would like it, and the matching silk underwear that she had underneath, but she also knew it probably wasn't going to be staying on for that long. She took a deep breath before an impish grin appeared on her face and she applied a thick layer of bright red lipstick to her lips. She had nothing to be worried about.

When Kairi woke up the next morning (and by next morning, it was actually around noon), she was actually sore. Couldn't remember the last time that she woke up feeling so sore from making love. She racked her mind trying to think about it and came to the conclusion that she seriously couldn't remember. She was sure that sure looked like a sight for sore eyes with her tangled, knotted hair, her smudged make up and the marks all over her from where Sora had kissed, bit and sucked at her skin the night before.

A grin suddenly appeared on her face as she turned around, grunted a bit as she moved her sore body, and looked at her sleeping husband. She still couldn't believe that she could call him that, and she couldn't believe that her name was now Mrs. Kairi Keys instead of Miss. Kairi Hart. She giggled as she stared at Sora, whose hair was ten times messier than normal. She grinned proudly as she saw the smudged lipstick that had come off of her lips and onto his skin wherever she had kissed him, exactly the reason she had put on the bright red shade in the first place. It was quite the sight to see.

"Sora," she whispered as she gently kissed his ear. He let out a small groan of protest before his eyes fluttered opened and he stared at her with a surprised look.

Before she could ask him what was wrong, he moved his hands to either side of her face and kissed her deeply. They had kissed like that hundreds of times before, but there was something about it that just felt different. She pulled away first, needing to catch her breath and whispered, "Hi." Kairi wasn't sure why she chose to say that, but she supposed that she could blame it on the need for air at the time.

He chuckled and said, "Hi." Sora pulled her flush against him and just hugged her, nuzzling his face into her neck affectionately.

Kairi giggled and let out a hum of happiness before saying, "We need to go to your mothers for two."

"What time is it?"

"12:19."

"You can never just round things off, can you?" he joked while rolling onto his back with his arm wrapped around her. Sora stared down at her as she settled her head on his chest and let out a laugh. "Your hair's a mess baby."

He actually heard Kairi pout before saying, "Someone should have kept their fingers out of it then. Besides, you're not exactly a stylists vision of perfection right now."

Sora grinned at her and said, "What can I say? You couldn't keep your hands to yourself or keep your lips off of me. My back's cut up, you know."

"It is not," she argued. "I've never broke through the skin on your back."

"You did last night." He gently pushed her off of him and rolled around and sure enough, there were bright red lines with spots of dried blood on his back.

Kairi let out a small gasp and touched the marks while saying, "I'm sorry baby."

"It's okay," he insisted. "It was a rough night all around last night."

She stretched out and asked, "Does my new husband want to come and help me wash my hair? I have a feeling that it's going to cause me a lot of trouble."

Sora laughed and said, "Only if my new wife wants to help me wash off all the lipstick that she got on me."

Kairi got out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom and said, "It's a deal."

It was odd really, because Kairi knew that Sora's parents had known that they were intimate before they were married, everyone had, but she felt a little different around them. Last night had been their wedding night, so she knew that everyone else knew that they had been intimate the night before, so it was a bit embarrassing as many people cracked jokes about it.

Sora had been introduced to her two older brothers, and while they tried to hassle him a bit, trying to see if he was good for their little sister, Sora quickly pointed out to Reno and Lea that it didn't really matter now anyway. Ven and Roxas had been amused to see another set of identical twins. While the Blade twins looked identical in every way (even their clothing styles were similar), Lea and Reno seemed to go out of their way to make themselves look different from the other. Lea was the younger of the two and had spiked up his hair while getting two diamond shaped tattoos just below his eyes and Reno had grown his hair out so that it was in a ponytail.

It had been an eventful day opening their gifts at his mother's place during the day and returning home to pack their bags for the beginning of their honeymoon the next day. Given that they lived on a tropical island, the two opted to go to a place more exciting than just a beach or a nice hotel with a pool. Instead, they decided to go to a theme park while staying at a very nice hotel there. Kairi wasn't going to lie, she was terribly excited to go to Disney World, as she had never got to go before.

Kairi was used to flying, since she had to do that to get to Destiny Islands from Radiant Garden, but it was the first time that Sora had ever been on a plane. He had been a bit nervous, but Kairi managed to keep him calm and distracted until the plane took off. It was on the plane that Kairi decided that her life probably was horrible clichéd in some form, because things like this didn't happen in real life. Sitting in the seat right next to Sora was a face she thought she'd never see again: Selphie.

The brunette was heading home, and been thrilled when she saw who she was sitting next to. Kairi switched seats with him and made sure to make a display of kissing and being affectionate with Sora before showing off her wedding ring to Selphie. Kairi knew for a fact that Selphie would go after a married man though, because she had seen it at the cafe. Really, she couldn't believe the odds that the girl who tried to steal Sora from her was sitting right beside them on their flight for their honeymoon. Needless to say, once the plane landed, Kairi managed to get Sora up and going pretty quickly without a farewell to the other girl.

Kairi assumed that Selphie's sudden appearance was a sign of foreboding for their honeymoon, but nothing bad had occurred. They spent their days going through the different theme parks in Disney, picking up a few souvenirs for a few people and themselves, and they spent their nights together lost in each other before dozing off for a few hours of sleep and doing it all over again. They were both exhausted by the end of their week and a half vacation, but both felt a little regret at having to leave the fun-filled place. They both agreed though that they just needed a few days to lay around their home (a vacation after a vacation) before Sora was off to work again and Kairi was starting to make her lesson plans for the upcoming school year.

After Sora left to work the first morning after their honeymoon, Kairi walked into the bathroom and took a deep breath as she reached into the medicine cabinet. She looked at the tiny pills that she was so used to taking every morning (she was proud to say the only time that she had messed them up was back when she was so stressed out from school—and ended up getting pregnant), and then looked at her reflection as if she was judging herself to see if she was really ready for this or not. They were just married after all. Call her selfish, but she wanted some time to enjoy her husband just to herself.

Kairi decided that she wasn't actually ready for a baby. She put her pills back. For now at least, she would keep taking them. Even if just for a little while longer.

Satisfied with her decision, she went about getting ready for her day.

**Author's Note**

Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed the last chapter! I'm glad you all liked it. I wanted to write something AU, but I didn't want to write a typical high school thing. I was trying to go for a real life mashed with a bit more drama.

Thank you to the anonymous person, Brown Eyed Sage and Shire Folk! Hope you all like this chapter too.

_**Krystal Lily Potter**_


	3. Blooming

**Skyward**

_Chapter Three – Blooming_

There are a lot of things in life that are planned, but many things that are unexpected too. Sometimes though, things can be planned, and yet when they occur, they're still so surprising at the exact same time.

Kairi had never expected to meet the man who she would one day fall in love with, and marry, at her very first university party. She had gone to that specific university to get away from her parents while being forced to take the courses that they wanted her to take, but then she had met Sora and everything changed. No one ever expects to fall in love, and it was the first time that it had ever happened to her. In a way, she had thought that she and Sora would never last, only because he was her first love. Now, here she was, a few months away from being together for six years, and she had been married to him for just over a year.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub in their apartment, her leg bouncing nervously. She really wished that Sora could be home with her, but he was on an important research trip out to one of the islands not inhabited by humans to help start cataloging the species that were there. He had been gone for five days already, and he wouldn't be coming back for another nine. She didn't try to argue with him or keep him home, she was actually fairly used to him working long hours now. Besides, he called her at least once a day to check in, and to assure her that he was alright. She understood that if he wanted to get anywhere in his career, he had to go on these trips, plus she knew it was the type of work he liked doing. She still missed him though, and wished that he could be there with her, especially now.

Finally, the little timer Kairi set went off, and she took a deep breath, taking the little plastic device off of the counter. She squeezed her eyes shut and took another deep breath as she opened her eyes and stared at the result. If Kairi was being honest with herself, she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry as she saw the word 'pregnant' staring up at her. Both reactions would be for the same reason though.

She left the bathroom, still staring at the positive pregnancy test as she made her way to the bedroom and flopped back onto her bed. She and Sora discussed having children not long after their wedding, and while Sora was particularly keen on the idea, she wanted to wait a little bit, if only to have a little more time to themselves. When their first anniversary approached though, Sora had brought up the idea (actually, he brought it up every few months), and she had finally agreed. She hadn't felt any more ready than before, but Kairi figured that she never world. She had stopped taking her birth control pills a few weeks before their anniversary, and Sora had taken the idea of 'practicing' to make a baby with great enthusiasm. Still, she was a little shocked that she was actually pregnant. It had only been about four weeks since she had stopped taking her pills, and she had to have been pregnant for at least a week for the test to work.

Kairi placed her hand onto her flat stomach, remembering the first time that she had been pregnant without even realizing it. Adding to the stress of her exams and loosing her job at the time, Sora had been hit by a drunk driving right in front of their old apartment. The combined stress, fear, and panic forced her to have a miscarriage before she even knew she was pregnant. Falling down the stairs trying to get to Sora probably hadn't helped the situation either.

The doctor that they went to see after deciding that they wanted to have a baby assured them that they were both very healthy without any problems. Kairi remembered being a little worried, because she had a miscarriage before, but the doctor assured her that it didn't effect her negatively in the long run.

All in all, she was actually a little surprised that she was pregnant already, but it was a good surprise. She just wished that Sora was there with her right now.

A determined look crossed her features as she gently rubbed her hand over her stomach. She would not let this baby die too. She and Sora would give it a good life full of love, she promised that.

Suddenly, her stomach started to feel a little queasy. She glanced over at the clock and let out a groan as she pushed herself off of the bed and walked towards the bathroom. For the past few days, she had been getting sick at 2:30 on the dot, and it was the reason that she decided to get the pregnancy test in the first place. She had thought that she was simply catching a summer cold, but the fact that she threw up only at around 2:30, and felt fine before and after that, was odd. Sure enough, the second Kairi reached the washroom, she felt the need to throw up everything that she had eaten that day. At least she wasn't throwing up first thing in the morning though.

The sadistic part of her hoped that Sora would have sympathy sickness or something similar. She had heard that some men sometimes can feel sick, could gain weight, or sometimes even feel pain when their wife was pregnant. She wasn't sure why, she wasn't a psychologist, and though Sora did have a PhD, he wouldn't know either. Kairi was willing to bet that Sora was going to get something like that. In passing, his mother had mentioned that Sora's father gained a ton a weight each time she was pregnant, where she hadn't gained an excessive amount of weight on top of what was normal. In all fairness, she had stayed active.

Kairi wasn't sure if she wanted to have a pudgy Sora around, but if he could take the sickness or something for her, all the better. She was comfortable enough in her relationship with her husband to admit that, while she loved his personality, she also loved the fact that he was actually both in shape and handsome. She was sure that she would love him if he pudged up a bit, but she probably wouldn't be quite as physically attracted to him.

She brushed her teeth and went back to her room. She suddenly felt exhausted, like the confirmation of the fact that a little life was growing inside of her sapped all of the energy out of her body. Suddenly, Kairi felt a thrill of fear pass through her. What if something happened to Sora while he was out on that boat ("Pirates could attack him")? What if he fell into the water and got eaten by some monstrous shark ("There are theories that Megaladon still exists")? What if he drowned and never came back, leaving her with as grieving widow at such a young age, alone with a baby?

She could feel a headache coming, and quickly forced herself to calm down. She didn't want to hurt the baby, and Sora knew what he was doing. It wasn't like he was alone. Kairi curled up on her side and hugged her middle, slowly slipping into a slumber that was filled with happy dreams of the future, including Sora beating up a shark that tried to eat him.

The day he was supposed to return home, Kairi rushed around the apartment, cooking one of his favourite, yet simple, meals of homemade macaroni and cheese, and making sure that she looked not just good, but amazing. She hadn't seen her husband in two weeks, so she wanted to make an impression. She found a cute summer dress that she had, but never wore out, because of how much the dryer had shrank it after she washed it to get a stain out, after wearing it only once. She thought about putting on the little number that she had worn on their wedding night (and had been brought out for their anniversary), but decided against it, just in case he brought a work friend or a family member with him. It had happened before. She was definitely planning on getting more use out of that before she started showing her pregnancy though.

Luckily, Sora was alone when he walked through the door, looking rather tired, but when he saw Kairi, his face lit up automatically. Without saying a word, he closed the door, dropped his bags, and made his way to her. He lifted her up, kissing her deeply, before setting her so that she was sitting on the kitchen table. Kairi moaned lightly into his mouth and pulled away only when she ran out a breath.

"I missed you," Sora said as he lowered her so that she was lying back on the table and he was hovering over. He went to her collarbone and started kissing and nipping at it, his hands wandering up and pushing the straps holding her dress up down.

"I missed you too," she replied breathlessly, allowing him to tug her dress down to just above her hips. "But baby, you still need to unpack your stuff."

"Screw that," he replied as he worked at pulling her dress of completely.

"The food's done too," Kairi said as she pushed herself up on her elbows, watching Sora fiddle with his belt. "Homemade macaroni. Extra cheese like when you drooled over it the first time I made it."

"I'm getting the feeling that you don't want to do it on the table, if at all," Sora said playfully. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I can do both at the same time."

Kairi raised an eyebrow and said, "You cannot eat and have sex at the same time!"

"Is that a statement, or a challenge?"

She saw his joking grin as a look of disgust appeared on her face. She leaned up and kissed him deeply, glancing at the lock over his shoulder. It was only 1:30, meaning that she had an hour before the baby would decide to reject all of the food she ate that day. This meant that, in theory, there would be enough time for him to do both things.

"Couch," she muttered in a rather distracted way.

Sora laughed and picked her up, heading towards the living room. Kairi and his favorite food; the day couldn't get any better.

"I missed you," Sora muttered as he kissed her. "And we need to get back to the important work." She knew that he was referring to them making a baby, but she didn't tell him that there was one already on the way. She would save that for after.

Exactly an hour later, Sora and Kairi were lounging on the couch together, under the blanket that they left there at all times, with only their underwear back on. Sora had completely forgot about the food by this time, and Kairi had lost track of the time until she felt it.

She had wanted to tell Sora about her being pregnant before she suffered through her 'morning' sickness, but she had been too distracted with the same act that had first created the baby to tell him. She felt the nausea passing over her and quickly pushed herself off of him, almost tripping over the blanket, and rushed to the bathroom. She heard Sora call out to her in confusion, but she ignored him, just making it to the bathroom just in time. As she retched in the toilet, she heard Sora come into the room and kneel down beside her, pulling her hair back out of her face and rubbing her back, much like he had the first night that they met. The situations were so different though. Still, she could practically feel the worry radiating off of him.

Kairi took several deep breaths before wiping off her mouth and flushed the toilet. She let out a small groan and leaned back into Sora's embrace. He stroked her hair softly and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"I'm not really sick," she replied in a rather dazed way. "Morning sickness doesn't always happen in the morning. It's been at 2:30 on the dot for the past two weeks."

"Mor—wait, I thought morning sickness happened when..." he trailed off, a look of realization appearing on his face.

Kairi grinned as his eyes snapped towards her and she said, "I'm pregnant."

"You're pre—you—I—" he was stunned. "Y—you're sure? Already? We're going to have a baby?"

"Yeah," she said while leaning her face into his neck. "We're going to have a baby in about eight months, give or take. Apparently we're really good at making them. I'd probably be pregnant every time we turned around if I wasn't on the pill for the most part."

Sora stared at her blankly, as if not believing her words. Ever since he had first met Saria, Naminé's daughter, he had wanted a baby of his own. He respected Kairi's wish to wait though, and realized that it was probably for the best. Still, he had been so excited when she agreed to start trying for a baby. He just didn't expect it to happen this fast.

Finally, her words registered and his face broke into a wide smile. He laughed happily and hugged her tightly.

"We're going to have a baby!" Sora repeated happily.

He was about to kiss her but she put her finger to his lips and said, "I have puke breath. Let me brush my teeth and use some mouthwash first." She frowned when he suddenly jerked away from her slightly, his eyes widening and his skin going pale as he loosened his grip on her. "What? The thought of puke breath is that bad?"

"Did I hurt you? I mean, I know sex can't actually hurt the baby, but I wasn't—I mean…we weren't really gentle and—are you okay?" He had done research on pregnancy, but that didn't make him any less worried. In his arms, he had the most important thing in the world to him, and she was now carrying the only other thing that could compete for that spot in his life. Really though, nothing could replace Kairi to him. The baby was instantly as important to him as she was, just in a different way.

He had known about the baby for less than five minutes, and already it was on his list of most important things in his life.

Kairi shook her head and said, "I'm not breakable. I'm fine. We're fine. Though, to be honest, earlier I couldn't wait to jump you, and now I just—don't."

"That's normal though, right? You're body's getting used to the changes. Are you in any pain?" he asked her.

"Not today. I'm tired now though," she admitted with a yawn, snuggling up close to him. "Don't worry. I hear women in their second trimester can be pretty…needy."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Sora said. "As long as you're okay. That's what matters."

"I will worry about it," Kairi said sharply. "Because our rather…er…active sex life is going to end after he or she is born. You know that, right?"

Sora pouted and said, "But I don't want to be one of those boring couples who loose their sex life forever. Can't we make room for it like...at least once a week?"

Kairi laughed and said, "Maybe. Don't think about that now though."

He nodded while leaning his head on the top of hers and happily saying, "We're having a baby."

"We're having a baby," she confirmed, closing her eyes and enjoying just sitting with him with his arms around her. She felt safe and warm, like nothing in the world could harm her.

Two months later, Kairi and Sora were going to his parents' house for dinner. It was just going to be them, his parents, and his grandmother, so Kairi suggested that they tell his parents about the baby. After all, his grandmother wasn't getting any younger and should at least know that there was a biological great-grandchild on the way. Kairi was going to be in meetings for the rest of the week before school started again, so this was the best time to do it. Sora joked that, in her free time, she was going to be sleeping and eating, so it definitely was the best time.

It was true. She was already having odd cravings, and over the past two and a half months, she had been really tired. The doctors assured her that, all of her symptoms were perfectly normal for someone in her first trimester. Tiredness, aches (particularly in her breasts and reproductive organs), cravings and morning sickness was to be expected. She was also warned not to be worried if she constantly had to go to the bathroom, had heat flashes, gas that she couldn't control, or mood swings. Luckily, her symptoms were rather average, and not that severe. She was just two weeks shy of month three, and already her morning sickness was starting to lessen. Though her cravings seemed to be picking up. Sora was just thankful that she wasn't too emotional yet.

When they got to his parents' house, and she smelled the barbequed food that his father was making, she instantly became ravenous. Kairi talked about barbequed food as if it was a rare delicacy that she rarely had. Sora was sure she'd put something strange on her food though, because instead of just being hungrier than normal, her odd cravings had picked up just recently. Two nights before, she woke him up saying that she wanted a strawberry sundae with diced pickles. Of course he made it for her, but he had been slightly grossed out when she ate it, claiming it was amazing.

They were all sitting outside to eat, since it was such a nice day, not too hot or too cold for once, and Sora's father insisted on serving them all to see if he could remember what everyone liked. To keep his mind sharp, he said. No one questioned his methods or motives. Sora insisted that his dad was clinically insane, he just made so much money and kept making new inventions that earned companies more money, so no one dared put him away.

Whatever his methods were, he got everything that everyone always ate right, but as he set Kairi's plate in front of her, she had to frown. Normally she loved the works on both her hamburger and hotdog, but it just didn't seem right to her.

"What's wrong dear?" Saika asked her grand-daughter-in-law as she saw Kairi just staring at her food. "It is cooked, is it not? Raiden! Are you given this young lady uncooked food?"

"No," Kairi answered quickly, "It's cooked, it just..."

She trailed off, looking a little embarrassed, so Sora put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Just what?"

"It's not sweet enough," she admitted.

"Sweet enough?" Raiden asked, amusement passing over his features. "Well, what would you like on it Kairi? Perhaps some of the chocolate sundae sauce we have inside?"

Kairi didn't answer, her cheeks flushing a bit, but from the look on her face that appeared a moment later, Sora knew the answer to the question.

He sighed and shook his head before getting up and heading into the kitchen. He reappeared a minute later, well aware of his confused relatives' stares. He set the bottle of chocolate sauce in front of Kairi and said, "That's going to be disgusting. And to think, you used to think that I ate gross things."

She ignored him and everyone else as she squirted the liquid chocolate onto her hotdog and hamburger before happily eating it.

"I thought she was joking," Raiden said, confusion on his face. Like his son (actually, all of his children, including Xion), he would eat almost anything, but that combination did not look appealing.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Ayame asked slowly, her eyes darted from her son to her daughter-in-law and back again with a knowing look. Sora's grandmother had a huge grin on her wrinkled face, but didn't say a word (for once). At Kairi's nod, Ayame said, "You know, when I was pregnant with Sora, all I wanted was sweet things. Before that, with Zack, I had constant cravings for more tangy things, and with Xion I was awfully cranky if I didn't get my greasy food."

"No kidding," Raiden muttered, only to receive a quick smack on the back of his head.

Sora and Kairi had been planning some elaborate way to tell his parents and grandmother that there was another little Keys on the way. Kairi wasn't even thinking of this when she turned to Sora and said, "Our baby is just like you then. It's making me want sweet things."

Sora's father had been the only one to remain clueless (because, bless his heart, he was brilliant, but he was also oblivious at the best of times, another thing his son have obviously inherited), and ended up choking, almost snorting his Pepsi out of his nose. He stared at them with surprise and asked, "You're pregnant?"

Kairi had returned to focusing on her chocolate-covered barbequed food, so Sora was left to nod and answer, "Yeah, she is."

The reaction to this confirmation was automatic, and loud. Both women gave some form of a laugh or squeal of happiness before instantly launching into a series of questions that Kairi wasn't even paying attention to, and Sora's father looked stunned before grinning broadly and clapping his son on the back before saying that he was getting old.

Sora's parents and grandmother had given them a lot of advice that night, and both women told Kairi what to, in general, expect when dealing with pregnancy, but it was different for everyone. They also stressed that Sora should take very good care of her. Actually, they had both promised him bodily harm if he didn't.

Somehow, his own parents and grandmother seemed to like Kairi more than him. Then again, few people in the Keys family went along with stereotypes and typical clichés.

Kairi didn't bother telling anyone at the school that she was pregnant at first. She was worried, because while she had a contract, she didn't want to seem like she was slacking off on her job and end up getting fired or something. She was sure that there was something in the teacher's union, or at least in the law, that said they weren't allowed to fire her just because she was pregnant, but she was still worried. She was thankful that her sickness seemed to vanish completely as the school year started, and her cravings were never bad while she was in class.

As Kairi went into her second trimester, and her stomach was to show a bit, she was beginning to experience the heat flashes that she had been warned about.

Sora noticed that she was because much more emotional than before. Usually, she could control herself well enough when she was at work, but there were times she ended up scolding students who didn't need it. It was Sora who took the brunt end of her raging hormones though.

There were times when she was so happy one minute, and then sobbing hysterically the next. The worst example was when Sora had to leave for three days for some sort of conference. First she had been fine like normal, then she had been intensely annoyed with him (he was sure that she pretended that the vegetables she cut up were his face), to crying uncontrollably.

He had to assure her over and over again that yes, it was actually a conference, and no, he wasn't going to hook up with anyone there. Kairi was definitely becoming more self-conscious as she gained weight, but he assured her that he would never ever cheat on her. She still insisted that he needed to go to the conference, but Sora had convinced her to invite Naminé, Saria and Roxas over for the days he was gone.

Roxas and Naminé had started dating not long after Sora and Kairi were married, and Saria adored Roxas. He moved back to the islands to be with his girlfriend and her daughter, though Ventus still live in Twilight Town.

Apparently Roxas had taken Sora's place of the thing that Kairi raged at most while the brunet was gone. Sora had just chuckled weakly when Roxas confronted him about this.

One of the things that Kairi hated most was that she was always hungry. Though she never had morning sickness anymore, she wasn't tired all of the time, and she didn't generally ache everywhere, her hunger had reared it's head with a vengeance. Naturally, Kairi blamed Sora, saying that only his child would want as much nourishment as it did.

Of course, there were other issues too, like the fact that the baby insisted that her bladder was a good pillow. It was this symptom that forced her to finally actually inform the administration of the school that she was pregnant. She had left the classroom four times in two hours, so it was noticeable.

The principal was an old, strict man. He was short, and Kairi was sure that he should have retired ages ago, but he never did. Behind his grumpy facade though, she knew he was just a sweet old man who missed his late wife. Mr. Peterson was like an adopted grandfather to a little boy named Russell, and he always had his dog, Doug, with him outside of school. Kairi admired the photo of his wife as wall and the random balloons he always had in his office before she told him about her condition.

She was surprised when he quizzed her about how Sora was treating her, and he seemed pleased when she said that he was treating her really well. She learned that he and his wife had lost their baby before it was born and they weren't able to have children after that. For the first time, Kairi told someone else that she too had a miscarriage when she was a bit younger, knowing that this misunderstood old man could understand. He told her to take care of herself, and if she ever needed anything to come to him right away.

Kairi generally tried to be healthy and active, knowing that if she was, her abdominal muscles would be able to hold her baby better and would actually make her stomach stay a little smaller. Still though, despite her regular (but not excessive) exercise, as she steadily neared the five month mark, her abdomen seemed to practically balloon out. Her baby bump was much larger than it was at the first of month four. Sora insisted on keeping track.

Now people were starting to notice that she was pregnant, coming over to her and talking to her about it, some even touching her stomach, though it wasn't even that big yet. She wasn't all that big of a fan of that. Still, she was thankful that her ankles weren't swollen and she didn't have any major pains in her back yet. It might have stopped her from taking her third grade class (along with Mr. Smith's third grade class) to the aquarium at the Marine Wildlife Institute.

Other chaperons on the trip included John (Mr. Smith), Olette (who was acting as her TA again that year), and a few parents. There were sixty children, so Kairi was thankful that the extra help was there. One mother admitted to her that part of the reason she insisted on coming was because her son had mentioned that Kairi was pregnant, and she didn't want the mother-to-be to be overly stressed. She had to thank all of them for that.

Kairi was so excited, because she would get to see Sora doing what he loved. She had visited him a few times at work, but he was always doing some sort of paperwork when she showed up. She knew that he was actually going to be working with some of the animals that day though.

The director of the institute had greeted her like she was an old friend, and assured her that Sora was not working around the shark tank that day. Kairi blushed a bit, knowing that Sora didn't want to make her nervous, because she had been having nightmares about him falling into the tank and being attacked. She read that odd dreams were fairly common, but that nightmare had made her cry hysterically (just like the time he stayed late at work), so he didn't want to upset her and hurt the baby.

Sora concluded that she just had secret issues with sharks and suggested that she watch Shark Week with him because they weren't that bad.

They were taken around the aquarium and the director himself explained what everything was, keeping the children fascinated. He rarely ever gave tours, but he enjoyed teaching young children about the ocean. The director also said that there was a special surprise in the dolphin tank that day.

One of their dolphins had just given birth that morning, so they would probably be able to see it. That was when Kairi really saw Sora working for the first time. He was one of the people in the tank with scuba gear and taking notes about different things. The director used the communication system linked into the scuba gear to tell them that they were there, and Sora happily waved at his wife before pointing towards something just above him. All of the children looked up to see the mother dolphin swimming with her newborn baby.

A few of the children giggled about how the mommy dolphin was like Mrs. Keys, and she had blushed at that. It was getting fairly hot in the room, but she knew it was just her. Then she felt it. She had been feeling slight movements for a while now, but this was the first real kick that she had ever felt. She felt giddy with happiness, despite the heat.

Kairi blinked with confusion. One minute, she had been smiling at Sora while feeling her baby kick, and the next she found herself lying with her head in Olette's lap while staring up at the director and the other teacher. She could faintly hear the parents that came with them calming the children, and looked around with confusion. Sora was no longer in the tank, but she had no clue where he was.

"What happened?" she asked with confusion.

"You fainted," Olette explained. Kairi felt a thrill of fear pass through her as she moved her hand to her stomach, and instantly felt relieved when Olette added, "We caught you though. I think the one who got it worse was Sora. I thought he was going to have a heart attack in that tank."

"Where is he?" Kairi questioned.

"You were only unconscious for about thirty seconds, so he'll probably be here in a minute," the director answered.

Kairi nodded and sat up with Olette's help. The children all seemed a little frightened, so she smiled and said, "I'm fine. It was just really hot. How about you all follow Mr. Smith for the rest of the tour?" She looked up at the other teacher. "That is alright with you, right?"

"It's fine," John said. "You should probably lie down for a bit anyway." After she once again assured the children that she was alright, standing up with the help of Olette and one of the parents, they continued on their way. As they did, Sora appeared, looking terribly worried. He made a beeline for her, and quickly took her into his arms.

Kairi turned a bit so that she could nestle herself closely to him. That was one of the drawbacks of the growing baby. She had to think about how she had to stand if she wanted to be close to Sora, whereas before, she could basically just throw herself at him.

Sora held her in a way that she could describe only as protectively, and asked, "Are you okay? Do you think you need to go see the doctor?"

"No, I'm fine. We have an appointment next week anyway," she pointed out. "It was just a little too hot. They caught me before I could really fall."

"You should probably go home for the rest of the day and get some rest," Olette told her. "I can call Mr. Peterson and ask if someone else can come down to help supervise. He'll understand."

"Marlin told me to take the rest of the day off to make sure that you were okay anyway," he said, referring to his boss.

Kairi yawned a bit, feeling exhausted and nodded in agreement.

She ended up falling asleep on Sora's shoulder on the drive home, and was only half awake when he helped her out of the car and to their bed, falling asleep almost instantly after hitting the mattress.

When she woke up an hour later she felt completely refreshed and rejuvenated. She got up to the smell of something delicious being cooked in the kitchen (something Sora had gotten better at over the years, or maybe it was just because she wanted to eat the world, who knew), and followed the smell to its origin. Instead of walking in, she watched Sora for a little bit.

Needless to say, when Sora turned around, he jumped with surprise at seeing her there and ended up burning himself a bit with the frying pan. He assured his worried wife that it was no big deal, but she still felt a little bad and insisted on making it up to him.

Sora wasn't about to say no to that. He knew exactly what Kairi meant by wanting to make it up to him. Of course, he knew that it probably had more to do with the fact that her hormones made her want to jump his bones most of the time rather than her making anything up to him, but he wasn't about to complain.

As they laid together afterwards, Kairi was suddenly reminded about what had happened just before she fainted when she felt another kick. She giggled and placed Sora's hand over the spot, and he stared at her with confusion that turned into wonder as he felt the small thump. He knew exactly what it was that he was feeling, and he couldn't help but smile broadly.

Sora joked that she was only using him for his body now, but Kairi pointed out that if that was true she probably would have cheated on him already, but she hadn't, so there had to be something else about him that she liked.

Kairi was definitely put off that she couldn't really help all that much with the Christmas decorations. She could help with the three, but where she climbed on tables, chairs and ladders to put up decorations the years before, she wasn't even allowed to entertain the thought of doing that. Sora insisted that she was very bossy and picky when it came to Christmas decorations.

She replied to that by saying that he wasn't going to be getting any if he kept being mean. They both knew that this was a blunt lie. Kairi argued that she wanted to enjoy the fact that, for once, she had big boobs, because it wouldn't last forever. Sora assured her that her normal boobs were perfectly fine with him.

They were going to get an ultrasound just barely a week before Christmas. Kairi had been nervous, because while she had regular doctors appointments, she would actually get to see her baby. Sure, she had seen it when it looked like a jellybean or something similar, but this would look like a real baby. She had been a little worried that it had taken up to her fifth month before she could really feel the baby kick, but the doctor assured her that many first-time mothers didn't notice it until later because they didn't know what feelings to look for. Kairi was deemed more than perfectly healthy, but she was a bit surprised at how big Kairi actually was.

"Okay, this is probably going to be a little cold," the doctor said as she squirted the jelly on her stomach. Kairi shivered a little bit, but ignored it as she looked at the screen with interest. The monitors that the doctor had attached to Kairi's stomach suddenly started making a noise, and the doctor smiled.

"There's the heartbeat," she informed them, and Kairi held Sora's hand tightly while smiling. They had heard a small heartbeat before, but this was different.

Sora, on the other hand, frowned. He had taken the heartbeat of other animals before, and while he wasn't an expert on humans, and he wasn't a vet, he was pretty sure that there was something wrong with the heartbeat. It sounded too fast. He pointed that out to the doctor, who frowned for a moment before nodding, saying that she could hear what he was talking about. She turned on the monitor to see if there was anything wrong.

Suddenly, she smiled and laughed. Turning to the worried parents-to-be, she assured them that it wasn't a complication or anything to worry about. What they were hearing was two separate heartbeats jumbled together. The doctor then pointed out the two separate heads to the stunned parents.

"We're having twins?" Sora asked with a stunned expression. The doctor nodded and Sora suddenly laughed and hugged Kairi. "We're going to have two babies!"

Kairi's stunned expression turned into a smile as she gave Sora a quick kiss before looking back at the screen. Now that she knew there were two there, she could easily see them. Thinking about it though, it's not like she could really be extremely surprised, because it wasn't just two babies out of the blue. Sora had a set of twins on his side of the family, and Kairi's older brothers were twins as well.

Kairi was given a picture of the ultrasound (Sora insisted on getting a copy too), and she had stared at it all the way home. It was only when they entered their apartment that she frowned. It was a nice apartment, but there was only one extra room. It would be better to have only one room when the babies were little, but as they got older, they would need two separate rooms. Plus the room was awfully small. She looked at it, trying to envision the room with two cribs, a changing table, dressers, toys and all kinds of things.

After Kairi confronted him about this, Sora had taken a good look at the room as well. He frowned while staring at the room and knew that she was right. They needed to find a bigger place to live.

Roxas and Naminé helped them look in the market for a new place to live. The two couples had grown close, so it was no surprise that the blond couple was willing to help.

Whenever Sora spoke to his sister over the phone, Xion complained that all of the interesting things happened when she wasn't there. She and Riku lived together back on the main island and had gotten engaged the month before. Already, just like with his and Kairi's wedding, his grandmother was planning Xion's out. That and she was already expecting more great-grandchildren. They were both so far away though that Kairi found herself becoming closer to Naminé, and Sora and Roxas got along even better that Sora and Riku did.

They had looked through a few smaller houses first, because Sora wanted to get something that he and Kairi could actually pay for, but his father had stepped in and said that his grandchildren were not living in a shabby little house, and he didn't want his son to suffer from a mortgage. He had money and Sora hadn't asked for anything really, unlike Xion, who was always going to daddy for something or another.

Admittedly, the house that they had ended up getting was bigger than they needed at the time, but they were planning for the future as well. There were five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a large basement, and a very tiny room that they decided would be a computer room. Sora's grandmother took this as a good sign that they were going to have more children later on.

The house definitely needed some renovating though, especially since Kairi appeared to be allergic to the carpet, but aside from that, it was perfect. All of their stuff was packed and in a moving van, but Sora insisted that they get at least the carpets out before moving in so they were staying at his parents house for now. Anything to keep his wife and babies happy. Kairi was eight months pregnant while this was happening.

She kept working as long as she could, but Mr. Peterson insisted that she should stop being stubborn and go on maternity leave. She felt so lazy, considering she spent her time eating, sleeping, reading through baby names. and other things that didn't require much movement.

Luckily, Kairi wasn't quite as emotional as before, though she did still love all sort of food. Admittedly, she was a little bit cranky. Now her ankles were swollen, her lower back hurt, and she didn't like the fact that she couldn't see her feet. She had practically no sex-drive anymore, and Sora didn't push for anything after she found a bit of spotting on her clothes. They had rushed to the doctor, who checked Kairi out and said that everything still looked fine. She assured them that spotting happened with many women before they went into labour. Still, Kairi was told to watch for it, and if it was too bad, to come back to the hospital. So far though, it rarely ever happened.

Kairi couldn't help but be a little annoyed about the fact that she really couldn't be intimate with her husband for the next few months. After she had the babies, she was supposed to wait at least six weeks so that she could heal, but after that there was no telling if either of them would want to.

Sometimes Kairi wished she hadn't read up so much on childbirth. She wasn't sure what to do. C-sections were dangerous because it could cut and possibly kill the baby, but more natural births were terrifying. The movies didn't mention all of the blood and the fact that most doctors would have to cut her a bit down there so that parts wouldn't rip, and they didn't explain that usually, after pushing the baby into the world, the mother would lose control of her bowels. She was reluctant to even let Sora come in with her when she had the babies, but he insisted that he was, no matter what.

In the end though, it all depended on what direction the babies were facing when the time came.

While Kairi amused herself with these and other facts, Sora and the others had been working on the house for several days straight so far. Roxas, Mr. Keys, Ventus, Riku (both insisted on coming to help, which Sora took as them trying to remind him that they existed when it came to choosing the godfather), and even Lea and Reno (who were here because they had just found out that their baby sister was almost due with her own babies) were all there helping. Even after it was finished, Sora insisted on letting it air out so she wouldn't be attacked by the smell of fresh paint.

Kairi was so excited when she was finally able to see her new and improved house. Her breath had nearly left her when she saw the new hardwood and tile floors, the newly painted walls and all of the furniture set up. Sora led her up to their room, which was mostly pale browns, dark browns with a bit of navy thrown here and there, and she instantly claimed that she loved it. He also got a new bed from the old one that they had been using since they first moved in together, which had belonged to Zack before that. He had joked that they'd have to wait until have the babies came to break it in, and Kairi had pointed out that they would have to wait until at least six weeks after that, probably longer.

The part he was excited to show her was the nursery. It was painted with shades of purple and green instead of the traditional pink and blue, the cribs were set up on either side of the room with the changing table and the dresser set up by the window. Kairi smiled broadly at the room. It was perfect.

The people that she was working with, as well as her other female friends and family members, set up a baby shower for the week after they moved in. Everyone knew that she was having twins, but they hadn't told anyone the gender, so they all just assumed that they didn't know. In reality, Sora and Kairi knew that they were having both a boy and a girl. They just didn't tell anyone else because they enjoyed the suspense, and everyone brought them a mixture of boy and girl things, so it didn't really matter.

The night after her baby shower, only a few days before she was due, Kairi started feeling slight pains in her stomach. She had been warned about false labour before, but after a while, she wasn't so sure it was false labour at all; confirming it after her water broke. Sora was out getting a few things, so she calmly finished packing the suitcase that she wanted to bring to the hospital with clothes for herself as well as for the babies when they arrived, and sat calmly at the kitchen table, waiting for him. The pain, while still very painful, wasn't too bad yet, and she knew that she wasn't very far along. Since she was having twins, it was actually a surprise that she lasted as long as she did. Twin tended to come earlier than just a single child.

Sora was confused when he walked in the house and saw her sitting there. She told him to but the groceries away, not wanting the milk to spoil before she said to take her suitcase out to the car so that they could drive to the hospital because she was in labour.

He nearly exploded with panic. He rapidly started asking her if she was alright, or if she was in any sort of pain. She said that there was only a bit now, but if he didn't stop panicking and take her to the hospital, she probably wouldn't be fine.

Sora had rushed her out to the car, making sure that she was buckled in before speeding away. Of course, like any good television comedy that Kairi had been watching lately, since she didn't really move around too much, it was only natural that the panicking, speeding father-to-be would be pulled over.

The police officer had slowly made his way to the front of the car and asked Sora if he knew how fast he was going. At that moment, Kairi let out a cry of pain and put her hand on her stomach. She said that the babies were coming, and Sora said that he was driving so fast to get her to the hospital. The officer let them go, but it wasn't lost on either of them how he followed them to the hospital, only veering away when he was sure that they were actually going there, not just lying to get out of a ticket.

After he left, Kairi calmed down and admitted that she was faking the intense pain at the time. Her contractions were far enough apart to let her know that the babies weren't coming yet, but close enough and painful enough to let her know that they were coming soon. When they got inside, the nurses smiled at the fact that Kairi was telling Sora to calm down, but they said that they had seen it before from worried fathers.

She was admitted to a room where they could monitor her progress, asking if she needed an epidural for the pain. She said that she didn't want one yet, but she might later. No one ever liked pain, but she was admittedly a pretty big wimp when it came to getting hurt. Once she was settled in, and the doctor had checked to see how far along she was, she told Sora that he should probably call his parents and grandmother, as well as Roxas and Naminé. Xion, Riku, Ventus, Lea and Reno were in town as well, so he should probably call them at some point of time. Then, she asked the nurse if she could make a long distance call. She was going to call her parents, because even if they hadn't spoken to her in such a long time, she thought they should still know that they were going to be grandparents and her ancient, cranky grandmother was going to be a great-grandmother.

She nervously bit her lip as a wave of pain hit her when another contraction came and went as she waited for one of her parents to answer the phone. She vaguely realized that they were two hours ahead, but it was still only 10 at night where they were. It was her mother who answered the phone, and Kairi didn't wait around for any chitchat. She blurted out, "Mom, I'm in labour right now. I just thought you should know."

There was a pause, and Kairi was about to hang up before the woman on the other end said, "Kairi? You're in—is Sora with you?"

Kairi was surprised that her mother even knew Sora's name, so she answered, "He's calling his parents right now."

"That's good," the woman said. "Are you alright, right now?"

"My contractions are pretty far apart, but I know the babies are coming tonight."

"Babies? You're having twins?" If Kairi didn't know any better, she could swear her mother was choking up.

"Yeah," she answered. Although she and Sora agreed to surprise everyone with there being a boy and a girl, she felt the urge to tell her mother the secret as well, maybe because she'd never get to see them. "A boy and a girl."

"I see," she replied, "and are you happy with this?"

"You mean was it planned?" Kairi clarified. "It was, and it wasn't. I purposely stopped my pills, but we hadn't exactly talked about it. Sora mentioned that he wanted a baby several times before the wedding though."

"He's been treating you good?"

"The best," she answered with a smile. "Even when he's not home with me, he makes sure to call me if he's not in the aquarium."

"In an aquarium? What on earth does he do?" For once, her mother honestly sounded interested. Kairi supposed that she had never actually got the chance to talk to her parents about what Sora aspired to do in life.

"He's a Marine Biologist. He's very smart mom. Has a Masters and a PhD and everything," she explained. "He loves it you know, and it's interesting to be married to someone who isn't a business man. No offense to dad or anything. I love my job too. I teach the third grade, but I won't be back there for almost a year."

"Which hospital did you say you were in again? " the older woman asked suddenly.

"I didn't say it, but I'm in the Elias Lillian Memorial Hospital," she explained before glancing at the door, seeing Sora just outside of it speaking to the doctor. "I've got to go mom. I just thought—"

"Wait," her mother said sharply, cutting Kairi off. "Don't lie on your back. It can put more stress on you and the baby. Lie on your side, or sit up."

Kairi was silent for a moment and said, "Okay. I have to go. Bye."

Sora was sitting, talking to Kairi, when a contraction more painful than before hit her. She had followed her mother's advice, finding that lying on her side did make her feel better, but as this pain hit her, she curled up into herself tightly as tears welded up in her eyes. Sora hugged her while kissing her forehead and whispering that she would be okay. The intense pain continued to come, but the doctors said that she was only five centimeters dilated and she needed to be ten before they could deliver the babies.

She had raged not about the fact that they had to wait, but about how they said that they were delivering the babies. She pointed out that they weren't the ones who were about to shove two babies through a tiny hole. Sora's grandmother, who was the first to arrive even before his parents (she had been visiting a friend of hers in the hospital), found this very amusing and agreed with her wholeheartedly. Soon, all of Sora's family that was on the islands was there. Naminé even brought little Saria, to remind Kairi that even though labour was a bitch, good things came out of it. It honestly did help, because Naminé had gone through this only six and a half years before.

Soon, the pain started coming faster than before. The rest of the family was ushered out of the room to give her some space as the pain became so intense that she let out a scream as every contraction hit her body. The doctors finally decided that Kairi was far enough along to be moved to the delivery room. They had also been monitoring the babies, and both looked to be in good positions for a more normal birth rather than a c-section. As they were moving her, she glanced at the clock and saw that she had been in labour for almost seven hours now, so it was no surprising that she was feeling exhausted. She saw how sleepy Sora looked, but he still remained attentive to her.

"I can't do this," Kairi muttered with a sob as another contraction finished hitting her body. "It hurts too much. I can't. I'm scare"

"You can do it baby," Sora replied as he brushed away the sweat on her forehead with a cool cloth. "Think about our babies. I mean, we did decide to go with Luke and Leia, right?"

She chuckled weakly and said, "Here I thought you were insisting on Megatron and Optimus Prime."

"Those are awesome names too," he agreed, and the nurse in the room with them chuckled, but his smile turned into a frown when she screamed in pain.

This time though, she barely had time to catch her breath before screaming again. Tears started streaking down her cheeks as she said, "I can't do this. I can't. Please, it hurts. I can't."

"You're doing great Kairi," the doctor said as she looked between Kairi's legs. "You're ten centimeters dilated. On your next contraction, you're going to push as hard as you can. If I tell you to stop, you need to stop. I know you'll want to keep pushing, just like you've been wanting to push for the last little while, but I repeat, if I say for you to stop. Stop. Understand?"

Kairi nodded her head and took Sora's hand into her own. No matter how many breathing classes she went to, or movies she watched, nothing could really prepare her for the real thing. She knew what was going to happen, including all the gruesome details, and now she wished that she had chosen a c-section.

The pain hit again, and it hit hard. She clutched Sora's hand tightly and heard the doctor say, "Push!" She didn't want to push, she really didn't, but she knew she had to. A loud screech escaped her lips as she pushed as hard as she could. Sora was letting her clutch his hand as tight as she could and was encouraging her that she was doing a good job, just like his mother had told him to. She pushed a few more times, and she honestly felt like she was dying. Her throat was so sore from screaming, but the pain was so intense that she couldn't stop.

"I see the head!" the doctor suddenly yelled, and Sora encouraged her to keep going. She took a deep breath before starting to push again, letting out a scream of pain as she pushed her first baby out of her body.

The doctors cut the umbilical cord after asking Sora if he wanted to, but he was too stunned by the loud cries in the room and just shook his head no. Kairi looked up with wonder as she heard the cry of her baby in the room, but before she could even know if the boy or the girl had been born first, another contraction hit her.

"Okay Kairi, you know what to do," the doctor said as Kairi began pushing again. She screamed again as she pushed, and took a deep breath at the end of the contraction, waiting for the next one to start up in a few seconds.

She was about to push again when the doctor said, "Don't push! Kairi, don't push!"

"Why not?" Sora asked, panic flashing through him. "What's wrong?"

"Umbilical cord is around her neck," the doctor said. "Kairi, whatever you do, don't push. You'll end up strangling the baby."

"I have to, I can't—" She was sobbing, desperately trying not to push even though her body instinctively wanted to. The doctors were quick about the business, and neither Kairi, not Sora was exactly sure what they had done.

"Okay Kairi, push now," the doctor said, and Kairi let out a loud shriek as she pushed. She pushed as hard as she could, and she felt the baby leave her body, but there was no crying this time. She collapsed onto her back, breathing heavily, her body going into shock, not even noticing the afterbirth or anything, pushing when they told her too.

"What's wrong with her?" Sora demanded to know. Kairi glanced up at him, and saw that he wasn't looking at her but towards the doctors as some nurses wrapped her up in warm blankets to help her get out of her shock. "Why isn't she crying?"

Kairi's head snapped up as she realized that their second baby, the girl according to Sora, hadn't been crying. Kairi knew that a non-crying baby was a bad thing. Before she could demand to know what was wrong, the baby started screeching, and instantly, both of the new parents felt relieved.

"That's the sound I like to hear," the doctor said happily.

Sora turned his attention to Kairi, but before he could say anything, the doctor called out, "Nurse, we need to get her cleaned up. Placenta's coming out next."

Sora purposely blocked Kairi's view of her lower body and said, "It's okay. You did great."

"That is not a miracle," she said finally, tired and still horribly sore. "Childbirth? Not at all."

The doctors and nurses laughed and continued to work. Kairi's body had gone into a light shock, which the doctors said could happen after childbirth, but the pain was slowly starting to come back again. It was nothing compared to the pain of pushing two children out of her body though, so she didn't complain.

"Childbirth may not be what the movies make it out to be," the doctor said suddenly. "But these little ones are definitely the miracles that they say they are." They brought over two bundles, one wrapped in a blue blanket, the other in pink.

Kairi, even though her body hurt something horrible, smiled broadly as the doctors carefully placed a baby in each of her arms so that they were leaning on her chest. She let out a small sob as she held the two little people that she had been carrying in her for the last eight and a half months. In reality, newborn babies weren't the prettiest things to look at, even their heads were a little oddly shaped (which was normal, since their skulls were still soft), but Kairi thought that they were the most beautiful things that she had ever seen.

"They're so small," Sora said in awe as he gently touched each of them. To him, the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen was the sight before him: Kairi holding their two new babies, even though she was sweaty and her skin was still flushed from the pain.

"Does the new daddy want to hold one of them?" the doctor asked with a small smile, and Kairi eagerly encouraged Sora to take the baby closest to him. The doctor helped him with how he was supposed to hold the baby, and he couldn't help but stare down and his new child in awe.

"Hi baby girl," he whispered to the child in his arms. She opened her eyes a bit, staring up at him with her pale blue eyes. "I'm your daddy, and that's your mommy and your brother. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you."

The boy opened his eyes as Kairi gently rocked him with a small smile, exhaustion filling her sore body. She grinned over at Sora and tiredly said, "They need names."

Sora kissed her gently on the lips before saying, "You're exhausted. You should get some sleep."

She shook her head and said, "I don't want to."

The doctor returned a moment later and said, "We'll be moving you back to your room after we make sure that everything's alright, and then we'll bring the babies in. Once you get a little rest, one of our nurses will come in and show you a few of the basics, alright?"

Kairi couldn't remember nodding, but she had felt a thrill of panic when the babies were taken from them. She also couldn't really remember anything after that. What she did remember was waking up to see Sora cradling a small baby with blue pajamas that were a little too big for him. There were two plastic cribs with padding beside him, a tiny figure dressed in pink sleeping peacefully in one.

"Sora?" she muttered tiredly as she pushed herself up a bit. His head snapped towards her as she smiled at him sleepily, and he returned the smile. She felt oddly content, not feeling any pain in her body.

"They gave you the good stuff," Sora explained as if sensing her question. "You're still good to hold one of them though."

"I want her," Kairi said, her eyes flickering to the baby in pink. Sora stood up, placing their son down for a moment before picking up the little girl and gently placing her in her mother's arms before he picked up the boy again.

"I thought we lost you, baby girl, even if it was only for a second," Kairi muttered, tears welding up in her eyes. "I thought I had hurt you by almost pushing when they told me not too. Don't worry though, nothing will ever happen to you or your brother. Your daddy and I will make sure of it." She turned her gaze up to Sora and asked, "Has anyone else seen them?"

"No, they're still waiting," Sora admitted sheepishly. "I didn't even go out and tell them yet. I just wanted to give you a bit of resting time, and I didn't want to leave you."

"Think we should put them out of their misery?" she asked.

Sora moved so that he was sitting on the bed beside her instead of on the chair, and gave her a gentle, tender kiss. Kairi returned the gesture, giving him a smile of contentment when they broke away from each other. He chuckled a bit and said, "I guess we can." Kairi opened her other arm so that he could place their son in it, against her chest and he got up to get their waiting family.

Sora's grandmother was the first in the room, grinning broadly with a few tears in her eyes when she saw the two little babies in their mother's arms. Sora's parents followed soon after, with everyone else trailing behind them.

"They're beautiful," Ayame said as she rocked the boy in her arms, the girl resting in Raiden's.

"Did you know that there was a girl and a boy?" Roxas asked curiously. He was wide-awake, having actually had the time to fall asleep. Saria was tired and wanted to go home, but Naminé didn't want to leave the hospital so Roxas had taken the girl back to Naminé's apartment to get some sleep before coming back early the next morning with her. Needless to say, Naminé wished that she had gone back too since she didn't know she would be waiting for over twelve hours. The group waiting had been told that Kairi and the babies were both fine, but they didn't tell them anything else, just saying that they'd have to wait to see them.

"Yeah," Sora answered as he sat beside Kairi, who was snuggled up to his side looking both tired but very alert at the same time. Every time one of the babies was handed to another person, she would tense up until they were securely put in the other people's arms. Sora rubbed her back gently before adding, "We just wanted to surprise the rest of you."

"I think they're both going to have your eyes, Sora," Naminé said while staring at the two of them. "There are pictures of Kairi and I as babies and our eyes were paler than this."

"That's because even though blue eyes aren't dominant, when it comes to our eye colour it definitely is," Xion said with a laugh. "Think about it. Zack, Sora, Cloud, Roxas, Ven and I all have the same eyes, even though mom's are brown, Cloud's father's are more of a silvery colour, and Roxas and Ven's father has brown eyes too. Moral of the story is, we win."

A few people chuckled, and the girl started crying. Kairi straightened up a bit and held out her arms, drawing her daughter close to her while rocking her.

"They're small mommy," Saria observed, peaking over the top of the bed at the baby in Kairi's arms. "I wasn't that tiny, was I?"

Naminé laughed and said, "No, you were never that tiny. Whenever there are two babies they usually come out a little bit smaller than average. Besides, you were a big baby."

"I don't know what she wants," Kairi said as she rocked the baby, who had yet to stop crying. She turned her eyes up to Sora, looking a little lost as she repeated, "I just don't know. What if I never know what's wrong? I'm going to be a horrible mom, because I'll never know when they're hungry or when they need to be changed or anything."

Sora's grandmother was now holding the boy while sitting down and said, "No one really knows at first dear. You'll just have to get them into a routine eventually."

"Nannie's right," Ayame agreed while putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "They're going to be up and crying a lot, and there are times you won't know why they're crying because sometimes there is no real reason. You'll get the hang of it though."

A nurse had come into the room soon after that, asking everyone but the new parents to leave. She showed Kairi how to breast-feed the babies, and while Kairi did do it there, she admitted that she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with it. The nurse was insistent that breast-milk was what she should do, and Kairi asked if there was some sort of pump she could use instead, just to see what that was like instead. She also added that Sora could feed them that way too. The nurse had said things like that did exist, and she admitted that it would probably be easier with twins.

Sora insisted that Kairi should get some more rest, but Kairi said that they needed to give their babies names. They bantered back and fourth, but they were at a loss. They had been trying to come up with names similar to theirs, with nature meanings, and while Sora really like the name Kasumi, which Kairi found in one of her baby books and mean 'mist', Kairi also liked the name Ardea, which meant 'fire'. Sora joked about how it would have been easy if they had two girls, and then mockingly suggested Satoshi to go with Kasumi. Kairi made fun of him for knowing the names of the characters off of Pokemon. Sora made fun of her for recognizing that he was alluding to the names of the characters off of Pokemon.

If she could be honest, Kairi was actually ashamed of herself for not having names picked out. Sora told her that Roxas' mother hadn't known she was having twins, so she had a name picked out for Ventus, but not Roxas. She had always liked Sora's name, so she rearranged the letters and put an x in it. Kairi said that they were not doing that. He said that if she kept shooting down his ideas, he was just going to name the boy Sora Junior and call him Soju. She said that if he did, she was getting a divorce.

Finally, after looking through the name book, they had decided to go with Emi for their daughter, and Taro for their son. Neither of the names had any sort of nature meaning like theirs did, but they thought the names suited their small children.

As she and Sora took their new family home, Kairi couldn't help but smile. She knew that the upcoming months were going to be rough, and there was going to be a lot of stress, but she wouldn't trade her life for anything. After all, when creating a life with another person, it was important to take care of all aspects of it, even after it had finished blooming.

**Author's Note**

So that's the end for now. Who knows, I might return to this sometime later an add a chapter or two again, but there's no plan for that right now.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Trainalf, Brown Eyed Sage, Anon, Shire Folk, simplyjennxD, and sunflowerb!

_**Krystal Lily Potter**_


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